Return of former Flames captain Mark Giordano no ordinary homecoming

This is not your average, run-of-the-mill homecoming.

He isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill defenceman.

Over the course of his storied ascension to captaincy in Calgary, Mark Giordano became one of the most beloved Flames in franchise history.

So, yes, there will be a lengthy video tribute welcoming him back to the Saddledome Saturday when he makes his first regular season appearance as captain with the Seattle Kraken.

The crowd will stand to salute the 38-year-old for his 15 years of yeoman’s service, as one of the fiercest and intense competitors the organization has ever seen.

As someone who invested so much of his time in the community, the man who served eight years as captain here, will likely get emotional.

After all, it wasn’t his choice to leave, making this return embrace a bit more complicated.

Thickening the plot was the faint hope some fans had that he could potentially return to Calgary as a Flame, either as a trade-deadline acquisition or as a free agent this summer.

That speculation ended earlier this week when Flames GM Brad Treliving acquired Tyler Toffoli from Montreal to bolster the team’s secondary scoring.

It squeezed even more from an already tight cap situation, making it even harder to fathom the Flames would attempt to upset their lineup enough to fit Giordano’s $6.75-million salary in.

The cost to rent Giordano would also likely include a first- or second-rounder and prospect in exchange for his services down the stretch.

The Flames weren’t willing to pay such a ransom in the summer to Seattle to prevent them from selecting Giordano in the expansion draft, so why would they pay it now?

Besides, their first-rounder this summer now belongs to the Habs as part of the Toffoli deal.

Fact is, the Flames’ current defensive group has proven conclusively it is more than capable of executing the style of play coach Darryl Sutter demands as part of an air-tight system made better by world-class netminding.

Sure, a playoff run of any sort would require additional bodies on the blue line.

But one wonders which defenceman Giordano would supplant, given how well each one has contributed in different ways to the organization’s stunning turnaround this season.

None of this is to mention the questions surrounding how bringing back the former captain could potentially alter what is clearly a symbiotic dressing-room dynamic.

No one questions whether he can help the Flames, but the cost is out of Calgary’s reach.

There are far too many other suitors craving a chance to add the Norris Trophy winner’s passion and experience to their lineup, including teams such as Florida, Tampa Bay and even Edmonton.

That last one is particularly hard to fathom.

Giordano has a no-trade list of 10 teams that would likely prevent any such silliness involving the Oilers.

Make no mistake, Giordano will almost certainly be traded.

Things haven’t worked out in Seattle the way either side had hoped.

There hasn’t been any Vegas-type magic for a franchise that has a long road ahead before it’s considered a playoff contender.

Drafting and making Giordano the captain was the obvious move, with an aim of trying to teach a young squad how best to conduct themselves in-game and in the community.

But the preseason notion that perhaps Giordano would sign an extension in the Emerald City before ultimately moving to the team’s front office as the face of the franchise hasn’t materialized.

He still feels he has several good years left to play hockey.

Kraken GM Ron Francis always knew that his backup plan with Giordano would be to swap the pending free agent for more building blocks.

Giordano’s story as an undrafted OHLer and NHLer who had enrolled at York University’s business school before getting a late invite to Flames camp will never get old.

Bolting to Russia during a contract impasse with Sutter only served to make him better and even more determined to prove doubters wrong.

He is, and always will be, one of the greatest players ever to wear the Flaming C.

He did so with great pride and poise, while immersing himself in the community with a fervor that garnered him international recognition via ESPN’s Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Having beaten the odds to live out almost every dream imaginable as a hockey player, Giordano’s desire to experience playoff success is still very much alive.

The fact that he’ll get that chance somewhere other than with the team he captained for eight years is likely bittersweet.

But none of that will taint the beauty of Saturday’s highly anticipated love-in between a player who cherished his time here, and a city that felt the same.

Return of former Flames captain Mark Giordano no ordinary homecoming
Source: Healthy Lifestyle