Maple Leafs acquire veteran D Giordano from Kraken

The Seattle Kraken have traded defenceman Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, TSN Hockey Insider tweets.

The #leafs are sending two second-round picks and a third-rounder to Seattle for Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell.

Heading back to the Kraken will be a pair of second-round picks in 2022 and 2023 and a third-rounder in 2024.

2nd RD in '22, 2nd RD in '23 and a 3rd RD pick in '24 going to Seattle from Toronto https://t.co/JJ1DIvTLZF

Seattle retaining 50 percent on Giordano's cap hit and salary. Leafs were able to get this done without spending a first-round pick which was important to GM Kyle Dubas

Giordano, 38, has six goals and 23 points in 55 games this season.

The Toronto native spent his entire NHL career with the Calgary Flames before the Kraken selected him in last summer's expansion draft. His career-best season came in 2018-19, when he tallied 17 goals and 74 points in 82 games with Calgary and won Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman.

Giordano carries a $6.75 million AAV this season and will become an unrestricted free agent in July. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun tweets that Seattle is retaining 50 per cent of Giordano's cap hit and salary. None of Blackwell's salary is being retained according to Johnston.

"Leafs were able to get this done without spending a first-round pick which was important to GM Kyle Dubas," LeBrun tweets.