The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to improve the roster ahead of their Stanley Cup Playoffs push, and they managed to do just that on Sunday, landing Kraken captain Mark Giordano via trade. According to Emily Kaplan, Giordano has been dealt to the Maple Leafs ahead of the NHL trade deadline, adding a key defensive piece to Toronto's squad.

The 38-year-old Giordano had spent his entire career as with the Calgary Flames up until joining the upstart Kraken in 2022 as part of the 2021 Expansion Draft. The veteran has been one of hockey's best defenders in the league throughout the past few seasons, making the All-Star team in 2018-19 and winning the Norris Trophy that same season. In 2019-20, Giordano took home the Mark Messier award for his leadership ability.

This season with the Kraken, Giordano has 23 points through 55 games, scoring 6 times and assisting 17 goals. He'll now be headed to Toronto where he'll have a far better chance at winning a Stanley Cup for the first time in his career, having failed to do so throughout his 15-year tenure in Calgary.

The full details of the trade have yet to be revealed, but it appears Seattle has stocked up for the future with its latest move, getting back some significant draft capital in exchange for the veteran defenseman.

At 19-38-6, the Kraken are in dead last in the Pacific Division, so offloading Giordano at the deadline was a wise move for the franchise that is clearly looking to contend later rather than sooner. As for Toronto, their defensive struggles have mounted of late, so the addition of Giordano could help quell the worries of fans heading into the postseason, though goalie remains an area of concern.