As the heat turned up during the Toronto Maple Leafs’ four-game losing streak, Toronto native Mark Giordano said bring it on. Then he brought out the gloves.
Mark Giordano knew what he had signed up for.
He welcomed the opportunity to join his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in March when he told the Seattle Kraken he was interested in being moved to his hometown team. The 39-year-old doubled down on that by signing a two-year, $1.6 million contract early in the offseason to begin establishing his roots.
Understanding he was joining a Stanley Cup contender in his mind, Giordano knew it was going to be perfect. There were going to be down times that come with the ebbs and flows of an 82-game season.
While the pressure of playing in your hometown can be a lot for some, particularly in a hockey-crazed market like Toronto, Giordano embraced it when asked about it before the team's 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
“I love it. I think people are passionate about our team here. People are excited for us to do well and I'd much rather play in a city that cares and really is involved in the day-to-day operations of the team and following us," Giordano said. "You hear things and you see things and you watch things, but I think there's nothing like playing in a Canadian market. It's great."
Of course, Giordano has experience playing in Canada after spending the first 15 years of his NHL career with the Calgary Flames, the last eight of them as team captain.
During late stages of the game on Wednesday, Giordano came to Auston Matthews' defense by tackling Flyers forward Travis Konecny late in the third period.
Giordano ended up fighting Kevin Hayes after everything was said and done.
"It's not surprising," Matthews said of Giordano. "It feels good to have that kind of support."
It was Toronto's second fighting major this season. Morgan Rielly came to Nick Robertson's defense after a hit from Winnipeg's Josh Morrissey on Oct. 22.
"I love it. That's what the game called for in that moment," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Giordano. "Gio's a leader, he's been in the league a long time. He's an absolute competitor. He's not known for being one of those guys who is going to fight or anything like that, but he is an absolute competitor in that moment sticking up for his teammates."
A staple on Toronto's third pair of defense, Giordano has led the Leafs among defensemen who have played at least three games with a 58 per cent expected goals-for percentage at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. He's been also been asked to take on more penalty-kill responsibilities since Jake Muzzin went down with a neck injury.
But at a time when the Maple Leafs needed a win and had to project some positivity, Giordano was there in the morning with his words, and in the game with his actions.
"It speaks volumes about our team's character both on and off the ice and the person we have in Gio," Tavares said.