Mark Giordano

[RichKlit]

For the most part our defense is our biggest question, IMO i think that the forwards didnt do enough for us last year in our zone, our defence although not stellar, are pretty solid and i would think alot of teams wish they had a Phanuef, or a Regher hell Acouin IS a decent d-man.Anyways i think our D got a bit of a rough ride last year and if the forwards commit to defence first our D wont be stranded in our zone with no outlet pass or the many other problems we had getting out of our zone last year.

[FlamesAddiction]

I expect him to be moved at some point during the season.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

He did? What kind of minutes was he playing?

He played on the top pairing with Danny Markov. (Yes chris lindberg is actually accurate on this. I don't know where he gets off thinking Brett Palin is going to be a darkhorse challenging for a spot though, that seems odd to me.)

As for Gio, I'm excited to see him back, a young, quick, puck moving defenseman with some offensive instinct and a tough lil bugger for his size. Its just hard to say that you are excited to see him back with the exhausted saviour comments these days. I think you'll see him on the bottom pairing with Warraner or Vandermeer. If he actually lines up with Aucoin or Eriksson, that could be a nightmare pairing (remembering back to the Aucoin-Hale combo). I also think he'll play the PP unit and should be a dynamic addition if paired with Phaneuf, but would also look good on the 2nd PP.

[Vulcan]

Like I said in other threads, Giordano is going to given a chance to play with Phaneuf. Everybody else has been given a shot and now it's his turn. I think he can handle it most nights but we'll have to give him some time before making him our designated whipping boy as he's got some upside. He should get 2nd line PP time and fill in for Aucoin at times on the first. This season will be his audition for taking Aucoin's spot on the PP when AA's contract runs out. I'd guess he'll get 20 to 30 points and aid in giving us a more mobile defence.

[chris lindberg]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

I don't know where he gets off thinking Brett Palin is going to be a darkhorse challenging for a spot though, that seems odd to me.

I was just going off what Quad City Head Coach Ryan McGill said this offseason, that all three of Palin, Pelech & Pardy look ready to compete for an NHL job up with the Calgary Flames.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

With Mark Giordano signing a 3-year, one-way contract with the Flames, what are your expectations of him this season.

In his rookie season with the Flames he had 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points in 48 games.

My expectations (assuming 82 games played): 9-10g, 10-20a, 20-30p

Obviously he is expected to make the team out of camp.

Also: Do you think Sutter saw something in his game when he was playing in Russia? Just changed his mind?

This is not to pick on you Nekhara...really isn't.

BUT

The expectations you suggest above, and likely adhered to by many that follow the Flames, are why I just shake my head when this guy is brought up.

I will qualify what I am saying with this....anything is possible, but really not probable for a variety of reasons.

Firstly the high end of 30 points....this would rank him among the top 45 NHL defensemen last year in scoring. Think about that. A guy who is esentially still an NHL rookie scoring among the top 50 in the game is somewhat absurd unless his name is Phaneuf or Greene or Johnson etc. Giordano would need to be playing either top 2 minutes, or have the best PP in the league (and be on the top unit) to even have a shot at such numbers. No doubt he has some offensive abilities, but with his defensive liabilities he will be shielded from anything to do with even top 4 minutes.....as he should.

Which leads me to the second reason.....not enough time on ice will obviously affect his ability to contribute offensively. Also we have to assume that the guy on the club who he would be taking minutes from in an offensive role would be Aucoin. Aucoin was 27th in the entire NHL among dmen for points last year...and makes 4 million bucks. Does it make ANY sense to take Aucoins minutes from him when he has proven he can make the contribution on offense he did, AND make him sit behind a guy who makes a 1/4 of his salary? As a coach or GM the answer would be a resounding...NO WAY.

All this is of course predicated on the assumption that Aucoin is a Flame come the start of the season and stays healthy enough to play a majority of games. Even if he isn't however, I think it is a massive leap of faith to think Giordano can just step in and get to that level of offensive impact. Remember, one year ago this guy was available to any team that wanted to offer him the money such a player commands these days. Hell, I would be stunned if Sutter matched an offer of anything over a million bucks back then.

No question he will be given a chance to play himself as high as he likes on the pecking order, much like last year. I don't agree that him playing in Russia was any sort of a good move for his development though as playing in QC (had that of happened) would of allowed for 2 things Moscow didn't.

1) He would of been in the Flames "system" and playing with similar players that Calgary now employs. (Comparitively of course)

2) He would of been seen about 100 times more often by his bosses, and had he of had a good year as most here seem to think he would of....he would have Sutter and Co. making a plan for him now and into the future. Better for both the club and himself.

right now he is just another guy trying to get a spot on an NHL club...the same scenario that will play out in 30 cities all over the NHL.

[Ryan Coke]

Interesting thoughts.

I still think he is going to get 10G, 20A, for 30 pts.

Worse case, he'll be an Aucoin like liability, but with potential to improve.

Best case, he'll work himself (over the year) into that vacant top 4 role which we lack.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by transplant99

This is not to pick on you Nekhara...really isn't.

BUT

The expectations you suggest above, and likely adhered to by many that follow the Flames, are why I just shake my head when this guy is brought up.

I will qualify what I am saying with this....anything is possible, but really not probable for a variety of reasons.

Firstly the high end of 30 points....this would rank him among the top 45 NHL defensemen last year in scoring. Think about that. A guy who is esentially still an NHL rookie scoring among the top 50 in the game is somewhat absurd unless his name is Phaneuf or Greene or Johnson etc. Giordano would need to be playing either top 2 minutes, or have the best PP in the league (and be on the top unit) to even have a shot at such numbers. No doubt he has some offensive abilities, but with his defensive liabilities he will be shielded from anything to do with even top 4 minutes.....as he should.

Which leads me to the second reason.....not enough time on ice will obviously affect his ability to contribute offensively. Also we have to assume that the guy on the club who he would be taking minutes from in an offensive role would be Aucoin. Aucoin was 27th in the entire NHL among dmen for points last year...and makes 4 million bucks. Does it make ANY sense to take Aucoins minutes from him when he has proven he can make the contribution on offense he did, AND make him sit behind a guy who makes a 1/4 of his salary? As a coach or GM the answer would be a resounding...NO WAY.

All this is of course predicated on the assumption that Aucoin is a Flame come the start of the season and stays healthy enough to play a majority of games. Even if he isn't however, I think it is a massive leap of faith to think Giordano can just step in and get to that level of offensive impact. Remember, one year ago this guy was available to any team that wanted to offer him the money such a player commands these days. Hell, I would be stunned if Sutter matched an offer of anything over a million bucks back then.

No question he will be given a chance to play himself as high as he likes on the pecking order, much like last year. I don't agree that him playing in Russia was any sort of a good move for his development though as playing in QC (had that of happened) would of allowed for 2 things Moscow didn't.

1) He would of been in the Flames "system" and playing with similar players that Calgary now employs. (Comparitively of course)

2) He would of been seen about 100 times more often by his bosses, and had he of had a good year as most here seem to think he would of....he would have Sutter and Co. making a plan for him now and into the future. Better for both the club and himself.

right now he is just another guy trying to get a spot on an NHL club...the same scenario that will play out in 30 cities all over the NHL.

Let me give my thoughts.
Firstly, he scored 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points in 48 games in his last season here. This was with very limited ice time and little PP time. Over an 82 game schedule this would work out to 25.625 points, so 20 to 30 points is a good guess. The kid's a scoring machine, the only fly in the ointment is whether he's responsible enough to get the ice time.

If he's good enough to replace Aucoin on the PP, he will. Aucoin couldn't keep his job with Phaneuf at even strength and he's obviously a stop gap until his contract runs out. Sutter or Keenan won't give him a pass just because he gets overpaid at $4M.

He didn't create any bad blood by going to Russia, Sutter did the same by going to Japan early in his career, so he understands.

Yep, he's just another
guy with the footspeed needed in todays game, something the Flames need.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Let me give my thoughts.
Firstly, he scored 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points in 48 games in his last season here. This was with very limited ice time and little PP time. Over an 82 game schedule this would work out to 25.625 points, so 20 to 30 points is a good guess. The kid's a scoring machine, the only fly in the ointment is whether he's responsible enough to get the ice time.

He also led the league in shooting percentage for defencemen. There is almost no chance he repeats that.

[Phanuthier]

Just piping in on the Gio vs Aucoin (if Aucoin stays), I would rather see Aucoin on the 2nd unit and have his cannon there, as the 1st PP will have enough shooters as it is (Phaneuf, Iginla, maybe Camm). Gio would be dynamic with Phaneuf on the PP since he is does have a wide set of offensive skills, but would also be fine with Aucoin on the 2nd PP if Phaneuf has his regular parter (say, Vandermeer).

As for pts... there are some surprising names on the top 60 defenseman in scoring (of ~180 total defenseman in the league). I don't think its absurd to say Gio can be in the top half to third of the league for goals/pts.

[OzSome]

I am still in a wait and see on Giordano. I don't want to keep my hopes high like thinking he is saviour. At least if he plays like a normal average defenseman, I won't be so dissappointed. I am just questioning why people are putting too much stock on the guy who were having problem cracking the #6 or #7 defenseman position two years ago. Yes he played a season in Russia but that doesn't mean he is better than what people think of him. I will be happy just to see him play consistent every game even stay as #4 or #5 or even #6 regularly. If he becomes one of the top 3 then i would be a bonus.

[T@T]

Well, I have a hard time believing a player that started out as a 4-5th and ended up a top pairing dman in the Russian elite league can't be good enough to be at least 5-6th on the Flames.

I'm personally going to stay positive about Mark, he is a great skater, he has great offensive instincts and a good accurate shot, If used properly he is 1000 times better than Anders "fricken" Eriksson.

[C_Rush]

Still like the kid and think we'll see good things from him this season. On the bottom pairings, a definate upgrade on Hale IMO.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by transplant99

This is not to pick on you Nekhara...really isn't.

BUT

The expectations you suggest above, and likely adhered to by many that follow the Flames, are why I just shake my head when this guy is brought up.

I will qualify what I am saying with this....anything is possible, but really not probable for a variety of reasons.

Firstly the high end of 30 points....this would rank him among the top 45 NHL defensemen last year in scoring. Think about that. A guy who is esentially still an NHL rookie scoring among the top 50 in the game is somewhat absurd unless his name is Phaneuf or Greene or Johnson etc. Giordano would need to be playing either top 2 minutes, or have the best PP in the league (and be on the top unit) to even have a shot at such numbers. No doubt he has some offensive abilities, but with his defensive liabilities he will be shielded from anything to do with even top 4 minutes.....as he should.

Which leads me to the second reason.....not enough time on ice will obviously affect his ability to contribute offensively. Also we have to assume that the guy on the club who he would be taking minutes from in an offensive role would be Aucoin. Aucoin was 27th in the entire NHL among dmen for points last year...and makes 4 million bucks. Does it make ANY sense to take Aucoins minutes from him when he has proven he can make the contribution on offense he did, AND make him sit behind a guy who makes a 1/4 of his salary? As a coach or GM the answer would be a resounding...NO WAY.

All this is of course predicated on the assumption that Aucoin is a Flame come the start of the season and stays healthy enough to play a majority of games. Even if he isn't however, I think it is a massive leap of faith to think Giordano can just step in and get to that level of offensive impact. Remember, one year ago this guy was available to any team that wanted to offer him the money such a player commands these days. Hell, I would be stunned if Sutter matched an offer of anything over a million bucks back then.

No question he will be given a chance to play himself as high as he likes on the pecking order, much like last year. I don't agree that him playing in Russia was any sort of a good move for his development though as playing in QC (had that of happened) would of allowed for 2 things Moscow didn't.

1) He would of been in the Flames "system" and playing with similar players that Calgary now employs. (Comparitively of course)

2) He would of been seen about 100 times more often by his bosses, and had he of had a good year as most here seem to think he would of....he would have Sutter and Co. making a plan for him now and into the future. Better for both the club and himself.

right now he is just another guy trying to get a spot on an NHL club...the same scenario that will play out in 30 cities all over the NHL.

Hey Transplant, I know you aren't trying to "pick on me".

I just looked at his stats 2 years ago, thought long and hard about whether I really believe his stats will worsen from then... which I see no reason for.

He had 7g, 8a, and 15 points in 48 games. 9g, 11a and 20 points in 82 games should be WELL within range unless he drops off hugely. 10g, 20a, and 30p in 82 games is what we could possibly see if he plays lots of minutes and his game reacted well to his time in Russia.

I don't see any indication to suggest that his numbers will worsen, that's all.

[AltaGuy]

Gio was also 4th in scoring among AHL DMen in 2005-2006 with 58 points in 73 games. He can produce from the backend.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by AltaGuy

Gio was also 4th in scoring among AHL DMen in 2005-2006 with 58 points in 73 games. He can produce from the backend.

I spotted that when I was looking through his stats. Pretty impressive numbers for a D-man.

[transplant99]

Hey, I hope the guy makes the club and goes lights out all year.

If he's good enough to replace Aucoin on the PP, he will.

No question, I just dont think there is any evidence that this has a reason to occur.

He didn't create any bad blood by going to Russia, Sutter did the same by going to Japan early in his career, so he understands.

Where did I say he created bad blood? I said I believe he stunted his development by doing so....and i explained why. I didnt see him play in Russia, so I cant comment one way or the other for sure, but precedent says he did not improve because of it. He would of been better off staying in NA and playing within the Flames system IMO.....like he will have to do if he makes the team.

Yep, he's just another guy with the footspeed needed in todays game, something the Flames need.

Sure he has good wheels...but there is SO much more to playing good defensive hockey than that...he has some tools, but does he have enough to displace the experience he will be battling for those last couple spots on the team? Not sure about that.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Sure he has good wheels...but there is SO much more to playing good defensive hockey than that...he has some tools, but does he have enough to displace the experience he will be battling for those last couple spots on the team? Not sure about that.

There are a few reasons that I think he can beat out the likes of Eriksson, Warrener, Pardy, Pelech, etc. for the 6th spot on the D.

1. Skills. He possesses speed, agility, great passing, and a great shot. We need a defenseman who can move the puck and we may have got him for ~$900k.

2. ~$900k. He is a good, inexpensive option who will be inexpensive for the next three seasons. Best to get him in there and continue his development into a steady defenseman for the Flames.

3. Since he is good friends with Dion, it is possible we may finally have someone who will work well with our young superstar.

4. Sutter obviously saw something in him to sign him to a 3-year, one-way deal... and I am not one to often question Sutter.

[Claeren]

Giordano and Phaneuf are good friends?! Outside of hockey? Where is that info sourced from?


EDIT: Oh, I see in todays paper, they were roomies for one season and sometimes played ping-pong together. They clearly were meant to be an allstar defensive duo, you don't play ping pong with just anyone! lol



Claeren.

[HelloHockeyFans]

I'm with Tranny on this one re: Giordano. It's like the other thread with some people posting absolutely insane offensive numbers for the Flames team as a whole... but then there, I think it was Nehkara again and I'm the type of guy who looks at the Flames with the glass half-full, vs. Nehkara looking at the Flames with the glass over-flowing (just kidding man).

Seriously though, best case scenario for Giordano I think, is that he finds some good chemistry with Phaneuf in the pre-season, rides it out and sticks with Dion to start the year. I will agree that he does have some offensive skill, but even in that respect, some people around here describe him as if he were some sort of Scott Neidermayer Lite... his defensive short-comings will be there and depending on the coaching staff's patience and their other options, I think we'll see him bounce around between the 1st pairing with Phaneuf (but taken off the ice when the situation calls for it) and the 3rd pairing with whoever when they've decided he's making too many mistakes or it's apparent the opposition is firing everything his way.