Oilers interested in 3-time All-Star and former Norris Trophy winner

NHL player agent Ritch Winter made an appearance on Sportsnet 960's Flames Talk on Friday to, among other things, discuss how some of his clients are doing. However, it was one client in particular, who will have been of some interest to Edmonton Oilers fans.

The client in question, is free agent defenceman Mark Giordano. Winter claimed that the Oilers were among the teams to have spoken with Giordano's camp during this offseason.

Other teams mentioned by Winter, apparently include the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Giordano's most recent team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course, all Edmonton sports fans will be interested in, is what the player means to their beloved Oilers.

Giordano firmly focused on the Stanley Cup

The 40-year-old has enjoyed a long NHL career which has lasted 18 seasons, and amazingly he still wants to play a few more years. As per the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran back in June, the player is holding out until he finds an opportunity that gives him the best chance of playing in the Stanley Cup Final.

This makes sense for Giordano, given he has yet to win the Holy Grail of hockey, having never gone further than the second round. Further, this would arguably put the Oilers in the driving seat for his services, followed by the Leafs.

However, would signing the three-time All-Star actually help the Oilers? We do know they are still looking for defensive reinforcements, after trading Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks and not matching the St. Louis Blues' offer for Philip Broberg.

Pros and cons of Oilers signing Giordano

Traditionally, Girodano has been a solid defenceman who skates well, is good for a point every two games and provides excellent leadership. At the same time however, he's just not the player he used to be anymore, albeit expected given his age.

Consider that the Toronto native had just nine points in 2023-24, his fewest since his first season in 2005-06 when he played just seven games. We will add the proviso that he only played 46 games this past season, although even this is noteworthy for similarly being his fewest since that first campaign in Calgary.

Further alluding to Giordano's eroding influence on the ice, his 16:37 average ice time was the lowest since 2008-09 with the Flames. You can also add in a 48.0 Fenwick For percentage, which was the second-lowest of his NHL career.

Despite all this, the 2019 Norris Memorial Trophy winner could still interest the Oilers, as a seventh defenceman with his aforementioned excellent leadership. For what it's worth, he also provided solid help at his own end of the ice this past season for the Leafs when he did play, as evidenced by a +10 rating.

Giordano does also like to mix it up, and his 49 penalty minutes would have equated to a career-high 87 over the course of a full 82-game regular season. Finally there's the financial aspect, with AFP Analytics projecting him to make just over $1.52 million, but likely being available for less, especially if he really is all about winning the Cup.

Overall, there is certainly a healthy balance of pros and cons for the Oilers to go ahead and sign Giordano. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if Stan Bowman and company advance past their initial talks with his camp.

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