Kyle Dubas comments on Mark Giordano deal, praises the veteran defenseman for leaving money on the table
At points this past season, as good as the Leafs were, there was a pretty strong belief that the team still needed to short up their blueline in order to transition from pretender to contender. The Leafs did just that with a pair of additions to the D corps in Ilya Lyubushkin and Mark Giordano.
The addition of these two defenders sparked both an uptick in physicality from the Leafs as well as a much more calm demeanor, especially when down in a game. As a result, we saw the team surge back in several games and pull off stunning come-from-behind victories, including in the playoffs.
We don't yet know what lies ahead for Lyubushkin in Toronto, but we do know that Mark Giordano will be sticking around after signing a 2-year extension, worth just $800,000 per season - a massive hometown discount from the veteran blueliner, and one that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas felt that it was important to acknowledge publicly.
Kyle Dubas on Mark Giordano taking less to allow the Leafs to retain some cap flexibility
Giordano, in a lot of ways, is exactly what the Leafs needed on the back end. We saw it at various points down the home stretch and in the postseason. Any time the Leafs needed something big to happen - a big penalty kill, a big goal on the power play, a big play to settle things down in the defensive zone, or just a calming veteran voice to motivate his teammates and help them to build some confidence - Mark Giordano was there.
The impact that Giordano had on this Leafs team made re-signing him for two more years and absolute no-brainer for Kyle Dubas. If you need a specific example of how Gio's presence in Toronto benefitted the Leafs, look no further than his work with young defenseman Timothy Liljegren. The two formed an electric pairing for the Buds last season and I'm almost certain that we'll see them together again this fall, at least to start the year.
I think Kyle Dubas spoke for all of Leafs Nation when he applauded Gio for giving the Leafs the best chance to win by leaving a lot of money on the negotiating table. We saw Jason Spezza do the same thing over the last few seasons, so it's nice to see these veterans leading by example in this regard. Hopefully that will rub off on some of the younger guys who are coming due here soon, including Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, who are both due new deals this summer.
| POLL | ||
MAI 22 | 271 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas comments on Mark Giordano deal, praises the veteran defenseman for leaving money on the table How much would you have been okay with Dubas paying Giordano? | ||
| 800K was the right number | 73 | 26.9 % |
| $1M would have been fine | 90 | 33.2 % |
| $1.5M-$2M would have been acceptable | 95 | 35.1 % |
| Anything over $2M would have been too much | 13 | 4.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
