Kraken GM Ron Francis reveals that Giordano did not force a trade to Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs did what they could to fill some of the holes that needed filling prior to the NHL's trade deadline on Monday. Leafs GM Kyle Dubas did his work on Sunday, zeroing in on a pair of Seattle Kraken players who he felt best exemplified what he was looking to add. Dubas brought in two players with good work ethic, who will have no problem going out on the ice and leading by example from whistle to whistle in Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell.
As far as what the Leafs gave up in the deal, it was far less than what some had anticipated that the price might be. In the beginning, it was expected that the Kraken wanted a 1st round pick for their captain, Mark Giordano. In the end, the price paid by the Leafs for these two players was a pair of 2nd round picks and a 3rd round pick, with all 3 picks coming in different seasons (2022 2nd, 2023 2nd, 2024 3rd).
Many had speculated that Giordano, who had a modified no-trade clause and could block a deal to any one of 12 NHL teams, had told Kraken GM Ron Francis that he wasn't interested in moving anywhere but Toronto, which may have handcuffed Francis, forcing him to take less to move the 38-year-old blueliner. Well, on Monday, we found out that that simply is not true.
Per Ron Francis himself, Giordano was a pro about the whole thing, putting his fate entirely in his GM's hands. In the end, Toronto made the best offer and landed the pieces that they wanted, with Francis getting the return that he was looking for from the Leafs.
- Francis on his deal with the Leafs on Sunday.
So despite what we had been hearing about Giordano pressing for a trade to his hometown team, it turns out that never actually happened. Did Francis ask his captain if there was any sort of a preference for him in terms of where he might want to land? Maybe, but I think Gio's message to his former GM was very clear. He wanted to do whatever was best for his team. It's that sort of attitude that I believe will make him very successful in Toronto. Gio is absolutely a team player and his former D partner in Calgary, T.J. Brodie, absolutely raved about Giordano as both a player and as a person before he landed in Toronto.
I think this is a player who, despite his age, is really going to add a lot of important intangibles to this Leafs team who are hungry for postseason success. Giordano is just a couple seasons removed from winning the Norris Trophy, so, yeah. I think he can help this team.
