Maple Leafs acquire Giordano, Blackwell from Kraken

Mark Giordano is coming home.

The Toronto Maple Leafs put their newfound cap space to good use, acquiring Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell from the Seattle Kraken, the team announced on Sunday.

The Maple Leafs will send the Kraken two second-round draft picks (2022 and 2023), and a 2024 third-round selection. The Kraken will retain 50 per cent of Giordano’s remaining salary.

A long-time member of the Calgary Flames, Giordano, 38, was selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft and quickly named team captain.

He has six goals and 23 points in 55 games this year. Giordano is in the last year of a contract with a cap hit of $6.75 million.

Born and raised in Toronto, the veteran defenceman carried a no-movement clause that allowed him to choose 19 teams he could be traded to. There were reports that he wanted to play for the Maple Leafs.

Mark Giordano is not the player he once was, especially with the puck, but defensively he still has a lot to offer. pic.twitter.com/YDqP81037u

— dom ???? (@domluszczyszyn) March 20, 2022

Giordano is more than familiar with current Maple Leafs’ defenceman T.J. Brodie, who he played alongside in Calgary. He won the James Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenceman at age 35 as a member of the Flames.

On March 5, Giordano played his 1,000th NHL game on the same day as Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds. The veteran defenceman is also heralded for his leadership ability winning the Mark Messier Leadership award with the Flames in the 2019-20 season.

Blackwell, 28, was selected by the Kraken from the New York Rangers in the expansion draft. He scored a career-high 12 goals and 22 points with the Rangers last season.

He’s viewed as a reliable defensive winger and can also play centre. With an average annual value of $750,000, Blackwell has eight goals and 17 points in 39 games this season.

The Massachusettes native will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Maple Leafs deal Dermott to Canucks

The Maple Leafs weren’t done there, trading defenceman Travis Dermott to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2022 third-round draft pick, previously owned by the Winnipeg Jets.

Dermott, 25, played in 251 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs after being selected in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. 

The Maple Leafs raised some eyebrows on Sunday after placing goalie Petr Mràzek on waivers — a notable move considering Mràzek earns $3.8 million in average annual value and freed up around $1.1 million in cap space.

General manager Kyle Dubas also placed Kyle Clifford on waivers and demoted Nick Robertson to the Toronto Marlies.

In a corresponding move, the Maple Leafs agreed to terms on a one-year, $750,00 with Finnish goalie Harri Säteri.