Today, instead of taking the long weekend off, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed defender Mark Giordano to a two year contract extension that will carry an $800,000 salary cap hit.

The Toronto born Giordano was acquired at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline along with Colin Blackwell for two second round picks and a third, in what was at the time a steal of a trade and confirmed at the end of the regular season.

Leafs Trading for Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell

Giordano helped shore up the Maple Leafs blueline heading into the playoffs, with 12 points in 20 games, and became enamored with his usual partner in Timothy Liljegren.

Thursday FTB: Mark Giordano “really impressed” with debut partner Timothy Liljegren

Re-signing Giordano was a big want for many Maple Leafs fans, but the cost was worrisome, with some people projecting his value on the free agent market at around $6 million, others putting it at around $2.5-3 million.

Kyle Dubas has been able to bring in and keep veteran players from the Toronto area before, and now Giordano lines up with Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza in that column.

The Maple Leafs aren't done yet, they still some work to do with nine more players to make decisions on:

Two more years for the 38 year old defender means he will most likely retire as a Maple Leaf, hopefully with a Stanley Cup ring or two.

Free Agents and Contracts