Toronto Maple Leafs veteran defenseman Mark Giordano continues to impress.
The Toronto Maple Leafs best shot blocker has been nominated by Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) to be the clubs 2023 nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy.
The awarded is handed out to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey”.
Each year one player from each NHL team is nominated for the award, which is named after the former NHL player who sustained an internal brain injury during a game in 1968 after hitting his head on the ice after a collision. Masterton would passed away just over a day after the incident. The league brought the award in at the conclusion of that season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Mark Giordano Nominated For Bill Masterton Trophy
Despite being undrafted, Giordano played in his 1,100-career game this past week and recently was acknowledged as the all-time NHL block shot leader.
While the statistic has only started being tracked in 2005-06, it shows his willingness to pay the price for the team. Also known as a great leader to younger players, Giordano served as the Calgary Flames captain from 2013 until 2021 and the franchise has yet to name his replacement since he left two seasons ago.
The Toronto native has also taken home the James Norris Trophy in 2018-19 as the leagues best defenseman after collecting 74 points in 78 games, as well the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2019-20.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Giordano who was a pending unrestricted free agent at the 2022 Trade Deadline from the Seattle Kraken. The Leafs and Giordano were able to agree on a two-year deal that off-season in an odd contract battle. Insider Elliotte Friedman reported on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the organization offered him two-year deal worth $1 Million per season, while Giordano countered by asking for less and settled at $800,000 per season.
Giordano is now the oldest skater in the league, but is still averaging nearly 19 minutes per game and rarely if ever takes a morning skate off. The blue liner has collected 24 points in 77 games this season and the club is looking to count on his veteran leadership heading into the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have only had one player win the award in their franchise history and that was Jason Blake who took home the honours in 2008 when he played in all 82 games after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia and was still able to collect 52 points.