The Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back a player almost every single member of the organization and member of the fan base adored. Mark Giordano is taking up a spot as part of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies staff as he returns to the Leafs organization.
On the day before training camp kicks off and we see snippets of dozens of Leafs taking the ice at the Ford Performance Centre, head coach Craig Berube met with the media and dropped a little tidbit that Giordano will soon be announced as part of a series of promotions and changes to the overall staff.
Brad Treliving says Mark Giordano will be joining the Leafs staff, working on the Marlies side of things as part of some promotions/changes still to be announced in the coming days.
— David Alter (@dalter) September 17, 2025
Giordano’s role is still unknown – we will not know until that official announcement is made – but the former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman was seen behind the bench as part of new Marlies head coach Jon Gruden’s staff during Leafs rookie camp last week. Typically, rookie camps are led entirely by the AHL coaching staff, so does this mean that the former Leafs blueliner is going to be entering the coaching world as one of Gruden’s assistants?
It’s a possibility but nothing will be certain until it’s all official.
Giordano remained as an unsigned unrestricted free agent through the entire 2024-25 season after having his contract with the Leafs expire after the previous season. His 2023-24 season was marred by injuries and at 30 years old, managed to play just 46 games, where he scored three goals and nine points and averaged the fewest minutes per game since the 2008-09 season, just 16:37 TOI.
No matter what, though, it is so good to see the hometown player come back and not just play for a few seasons and leave once more, but stick around and potentially start a new chapter in his hockey career.
Giordano played a total of 144 games for the Maple Leafs, scoring nine goals and 45 points while averaging 18:14 TOI. For his career, he has 1,148 games played and a total of 577 points.