Calgary Flames sign Mark Giordano to a five-year extension
The Calgary Flames have announced that they have signed defenceman Mark Giordano to a five-year extension that will see the Ontario native earn $4.02 million a season, according to ESPN.com.
Giordano was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. However, the new contact keeps the 27-year-old with the club for at least five more years. Giordano will play out his current
contract, which sees him earn $891,667 this season.
The signing is a positive one for Giordano, who has been fighting for some time to try and establish himself as an everyday National Hockey League player. The new contract with Calgary confirms that the
youngster is an important part of the club’s future.
However, it is unclear whether or not this is a strong signing for the Flames, who already have tons of money tied up in their defence core. Calgary is paying Jay Bouwmeester over $6 million for the next
four years and Robyn Regehr over $4 million for the next three seasons. In addition, the club also has Cory Sarich under contract for two more seasons, earning over $3 million. The squad will likely have to part ways with either Steve Staios or Ian White next
season as they both earn over $2.5 million. Moreover, the decision to dole out that type of money to a four year NHL vet, who only last year broke the 20 point mark is a curious one. The Flames have been synonymous with poorly thought out long-term contracts
over the past three seasons, giving Bouwmeester big money and picking up Ales Kotalik’s $3 million pay cheque, while giving underachiever Olli Jokinen a two-year, $6 million deal.
The Giordano signing may be another decision that comes back to haunt Flames general manager Darryl Sutter.
So far in 11 games this season Giordano has managed three assists.
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