Mark Giordano is back with the Maple Leafs

Defenseman Mark Giordano remained unsigned for the entire 2024-25 season and many fans spent the past campaign wondering what’s coming next for the veteran blue liner.

The 1,148-game veteran has yet to officially retire from the NHL, but on Wednesday, he was spotted with one of his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who went on to confirm on the opening day of training camp that Giordano will be joining the Leafs staff, taking on a role with the Marlies as part of a series of promotions and changes set to be announced in the coming days.

This is just tremendous development for Giordano, who started his career with the Calgary Flames in 2005 and captained the team for eight seasons from 2013-2021. He won the Norris Trophy in 2018-19 and the Mark Messier Leadership Award the following season. He went on to captain the Seattle Kraken and was a great leader in Toronto as well.

In his last season in the NHL in 2023-24, Giordano struggled with injuries and played just 46 regular season games and recorded three goals and six assists. He missed the entire postseason as the Maple Leafs were eliminated in seven games in the first round by the Boston Bruins. In 1,146 games in the NHL spent with the Flames, Kraken and Maple Leafs, he’s tallied 158 goals and 419 assists.

Welcome back to Toronto, Gio!