This is not your ordinary, mundane homecoming.
He’s no ordinary defender.
During his legendary rise to captain 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 on Saturday when he makes his first regular season appearance as captain of the Seattle Kraken.
The crowd will rise to salute the 38-year-old on his 15 years of service as one of the fiercest and most intense competitors the organization has ever seen.
As someone who has invested so much of his time in the community, the man who served eight years as captain here is likely to get emotional.
After all, it wasn’t his choice to leave, which made this hug back a little more complicated.
To thicken the plot, some fans had dim hopes 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 general manager Brad Treliving acquired Tyler Toffoli from Montreal to bolster the team’s secondary scoring.
He pulled even more out of an already tight cap situation, making it even harder to figure out that the Flames would try to shake up their roster enough to accommodate Giordano’s $6.75 million salary.
The cost of hiring Giordano would also likely include a first or second round and a prospect in exchange for his services over time.
The Flames weren’t willing to pay such a ransom this summer to Seattle to keep them from selecting Giordano in the expansion draft, so why would they pay it now?
In addition, their first round this summer now belongs to the Habs as part of the agreement with Toffoli.
The thing is, the current Flames defensive lineup has proven conclusively that they are more than capable of executing the style of play demanded by coach Darryl Sutter under an airtight system enhanced by a class goalie. world.
Of course, a playoff series of any kind would require additional bodies on the blue line.
But one wonders which defender Giordano would supplant, given how much each has contributed in different ways to the organization’s stunning turnaround this season.
None of this is to mention the questions surrounding how the former captain’s return could potentially alter what is clearly a symbiotic dressing room dynamic.
No one is wondering if he can help the Flames, but the cost is out of reach for Calgary.
There are far too many other contenders looking for a chance to add the Norris Trophy winner’s passion and experience to their roster, including teams like Florida, Tampa Bay and even Edmonton.
The latter is particularly difficult to understand.
Giordano has a no-trade roster of 10 teams that would likely prevent such silliness involving the Oilers.
Make no mistake, Giordano will almost certainly be traded.
Things didn’t work out in Seattle as both sides had hoped.
There has been no Vegas-type magic for a franchise that has a long way to go before it is considered a playoff contender.
Drafting and making Giordano captain was the obvious move, in an attempt to teach a young team how to best conduct themselves in the game and in the community.
But the pre-season idea that Giordano might sign an extension in the Emerald City before eventually moving to the team’s front office as the face of the franchise failed to materialize.
He feels he still has many good years left to play hockey.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis always knew his backup plan with Giordano would be to trade the pending free agent for other building blocks.
Giordano’s story as an undrafted OHL and NHL player who enrolled in York University’s business school before being a late invitee to Flames camp will never grow old.
Going to Russia during a contract standoff with Sutter only made him better and even more determined to prove the doubters wrong.
He is, and always will be, one of the greatest players to wear the Flaming C.
He did so with great pride and self-assurance, while immersing himself in the community with a fervor that earned him international recognition through ESPN’s Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
Having beaten the odds to fulfill nearly every dream imaginable as a hockey player, Giordano’s desire for playoff success is still alive and well.
The fact that he gets that chance anywhere other than with the team he led for eight years is probably bittersweet.
But none of that will tarnish the beauty of Saturday’s long-awaited love between a player who cherished his time here and a City that felt the same.
