2019-20 Player Report: Mark Giordano

Mark Giordano: Defence

Regular Season Stats:

60 GP, 5 G, 26 A, 31 Pts, 34 PIM, +2

Individual Grades

Mark: (B) This was probably the most challenging season of Mark Giordano’s career as the Flames captain. His defensive partner collapsed at practice. His coach resigned after racist comments and actions from his past were revealed and the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And for the most part, the 36 year old Toronto native held his own and steered the ship in the right direction. Numbers wise, this wasn’t the most spectacular year for Mark Giordano, but coming off of 2018-19’s Norris Trophy winning campaign it was going to be hard to live up to that dominance. In 18 fewer games Giordano had 43 less points, but as usual he was the steadying presence on the blue line for Calgary. Giordano isn’t getting any younger, so we shouldn’t be expecting 17 goal and 57 assist seasons anymore, but as long as he is wearing the Flamming C, the Flames have a rock they can rely on.

Maddie: (B) I feel like this is becoming something of a theme for me as we’re working our way through these grades, that I feel good but not great about x player’s season, and the same I think is true of Giordano. I think it was fair to expect that he wasn’t going to be able to replicate the same results he found in his 2018-19 season—and this isn’t a knock on him, that was just a stellar season and that would have been a huge expectation—and the fact that he did come down to earth a bit this season is understandable and, in the end, fine. He may not have been as dominant as he was last season, but Giordano was still really solid, and I think that’s just what the team needed from him. Like Mark said, I think steady is exactly the right word to describe him, which in some ways is the expectation, and this was one which he certainly met.

Michael: B+

Gordie: B

Renu: B-

Shane: A

Dustin: B

Reader Grade: B+