Flames Quarter-Century First Team: Mark Giordano

The NHL announced the Calgary Flames Quarter-Century team on Jan. 11, featuring several memorable names in franchise history.

Today, we want to look back at Mark Giordano's tenure with the club and examine his credentials for being on the Flames' first team.

Giordano was an undrafted defenseman at York University when he was invited to a Flames summer camp. He earned a contract in the AHL for the 2004-05 season.

He was in the Calgary lineup within a season, even though it was for only seven games. Giordano picked up an assist that year before dressing for 48 games in year two, scoring seven goals and 15 points.

However, he could not agree with the organization on a new contract, opting to skate in Russia for 2007-08, missing an entire NHL season. Thankfully, Giordano and the Flames agreed on a deal for 2008-09, and the rest is history.

At 25, he became a regular in the Calgary lineup, a spot he would maintain for the next 13 seasons.

On seven occasions, Giordano scored more than ten goals, setting a career-high of 21 in 2015-16. Moreover, he routinely collected more than 30 points in a season, surpassing the total ten times.

After the Flames dealt away long-time captain Jarome Iginla in 2012, Giordano earned the captaincy within a season and would serve as the team's leader for the next eight seasons.

In 2018-19, Giordano won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman, with 74 points and an NHL-best plus-39 rating. Additionally, he finished ninth in Hart Trophy voting that season.

As of 2024, he remains the only player in Flames history to win the award.

Following his outstanding season, Giordano became the second player behind Iginla to win the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2019-20.

During Giordano's 13 seasons with the Flames, these were his totals and ranks among players over the past 25 years:

• Games Played: 949 (2nd)

• Goals: 143 (7th)

• Assists: 366 (3rd)

• Points: 509 (4th)

• Plus/Minus: Plus-101 (1st)

• Penalty Minutes: 759 (1st)

• Points-Per-Game: 0.54 (39th)

• Power-play Goals: 52 (2nd)

• Power-play Points: 181 (2nd)

• Overtime Goals: 7 (4th)

• Game-Winning Goals: 23 (6th)

• Awards: Norris Trophy (2019), Mark Messier Leadership Award (2020)

• All-Star Games: 2015, 2016, 2020

• Honors: NHL All-Star - 1st Team (2018-19)

In 2021, at 38, the Flames left Giordano exposed in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, with the new club selecting him and making him the first captain in franchise history.

He played only 55 games with the Kraken before they dealt him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played 144 games over the next two and a half years. Although Giordano is not officially retired, he is not under contract with any team in 2024-25.

Regarding his place in Flames history, Giordano is one of three players to skate in 900 games with the club. Moreover, he is the team's tenth-highest scorer, the only undrafted player within the top ten.

Related: Flames Quarter-Century First Team: Matthew Tkachuk

Related: Iginla, Kiprusoff, & Gaudreau Headline Flames Quarter-Century Teams