Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign D Mark Giordano to extension (2 years, $800k AAV)

[JT AM da real deal]

Gio was our best defender since he arrived here .. sure in playoffs Brodie and Muzzy may have been a tiny bit better but not 4M AAV better folks .. this guy can still play .. he does not care about $$$ now he wants to play his last 2 years at home where he can see his kids more .. smart move for Leafs and smart move for Gio

Real decision is Rielly or Sandin? We don't need both as we can't have 2 guy who suck at defense on team. Gotta see what trade values bring for both guys and go from there

Muzzy Brodie Gio Lily are gonna be da core of D ... I like a flip of Sandin + Kerfoot + 1st rounder for Jakob C .. then Rielly and Jakob C becomes a solid pair too .. D solved for next year

 

[The Iceman]

I think this all comes back to Leafs fans thinking that poll about being the best GM to negotiate with is a bad thing.

I have talked to a guy who represented an agency (and it was one that has a lot of Leafs clients), and a lot of the time it is not about getting top dollar and rather going to a place where they feel most valued. Sure, money plays into that, but it is also respect from management and the idea that, even if things don't go perfectly or maybe a change needs to be made, they will still be respected. See Leivo, Barabanov, Mikheyev... That is why Dubas ranks at the top of that poll; not because he is easy to negotiate for top dollar.

And in fact, the only real overpayment he gave out was Marner, and that is a direct result of him getting completely disrespected on his ELC by Lou. Now we can argue whether Marner should have felt disrespected, but it is irrelevant. He was a guy who wanted reconciliation from the position he felt disrespected him, and that meant making up that money on his next deal. If we take that money off, Marner makes about 1 mill less than he does now and suddenly it is not an overpayment (or at least not much of one).

Traditionally RFAs get signed to undervalued contracts.
Even though these are usually the most productive years of a players career.

Logically players should be paid the highest $$$ during their most productive years.
Dubas didn't mind handing the big 3 their contracts knowing this would be low risk due to their ages.

And in a perfect world players 23-28 should be paid at their highest rate and outside of their primes lower value deals.
This should be how the system works but UFAs get paid and RFAs don't except our guys.

 

[kb]

Can't believe we got Gio re-upped for 2 years at basically league minimum. These are the type of signings that can win cups.....a top-4 who even with age regression will still be a top-6.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Mark Giordano Contract Extension | May 23, 2022

May 23, 2022

Mark Giordano speaks to the media Monday following the signing of his contract extension.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Quick Shifts: Maple Leafs’ Mark Giordano is 40 and lovin’ it

This is 40, Mark Giordano | 2024 NHL trophy predictions | Connor Bedard pulls off the David Perron | Death to preseason hockey (and expansion) + 7 more NHL goodies...

www.sportsnet.ca

1. Mark Giordano was with the boys on the bus when the serenade hit.

The NHL's newest oldest player turned 40 Tuesday — fittingly, a birthday following a maintenance day — and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates feted Giordano with a round of "Happy Birthday" and a cake as they rumbled to Gravenhurst, Ont., for a team-bonding excursion.

A traditional celebration for an undrafted player who took a most untraditional route (KHL pitstop) to the big league and has now outlasted retired goaltender Craig Anderson to grasp the title: Oldest active player in the National Hockey League.

Milestones aren't piled by accident.

Once Giordano entered his early 30s, still effective and energetic, he set a personal goal of skating to the Big Four-Oh.

"It seems like a long way away, and then — bang — all of a sudden, it's here," Giordano smiles.

"That was a goal of mine. I think being the oldest guy in the league, you can look at it however you want to, but I better look at it in a positive way. I feel good. You know what? I feel it's an accomplishment, but more importantly, I just feel like I can still contribute and play well for our team."

Giordano is expected to patrol the Leafs' third pairing (to the left of Timothy Liljegren) when his 18th season opens Wednesday, and his longevity has become both a source of inspiration and admiration among his peers. (The Leafs pepper him with good-natured age chirps, too.)

"It's cool to see somebody older than me still in the league," Ryan Reaves quips. Reaves is 36 now but will be 40 when he cashes his final Maple Leafs paycheque. "It's great seeing a leader like him and a guy that's had a career like him still grinding it out at 40. It's cool to see, and it gives me hope for sure."