Former Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano is moving behind the bench with the Toronto Marlies, where he has been hired as an assistant coach for the 2026-27 American Hockey League season.
Giordano arrives on the Marlies staff after spending time with the organization in an advisory role. The move adds a familiar hockey mind to Toronto’s development pipeline, one built around a player who spent years setting the standard on and off the ice.
A veteran defenceman, Giordano took over as Flames captain in 2013 after Jarome Iginla. He held that role through 2021 and put together a long run in Calgary that left him near the top of the franchise record book. Over 15 seasons with the Flames, he played 949 regular-season games, the third-most in team history.
His time in Calgary ended when Seattle selected him in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. The Kraken made him the first captain in franchise history, and he later moved on to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he spent three seasons before announcing his retirement in 2024.
Giordano’s peak as an NHL player came in 2018-19, when he posted 17 goals and 57 assists for 74 points with a plus-39 rating. That season earned him the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenceman.
He was also recognized for his leadership in 2019-20, when he won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, given annually to the player who best represents leadership on and off the ice while helping the community and growing the game.
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