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Between trading for Dougie Hamilton and signing Michael Frolik the Calgary Flames have made a lot of noise in recent weeks.

Lost in the fog of those big moves was some news regarding contract negotiations with Flames captain Mark Giordano.

#Flames Giordano now eligible to sign #NHL extension. Hearing starting point on max term is 72m over 8 years.

— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) July 1, 2015

That's right in the ballpark of what TSN's Frank Seravalli reported prior to the draft.

From TSN.ca: Sources say the initial ask from Giordano’s camp, headed by agent Ritch Winter, is in the neighbourhood of $9 million per season. Treliving declined to comment on that dollar value amount.

A few thoughts:

1) I have a lot of time for Marko Giordano. There is no doubt he is one of the top defensemen in the NHL right now. In saying that an eight-year deal is an absurd ask from a 31-year-old blue liner who will turn 32 before the upcoming season begins.

2) Initial asks in negotiations rarely lead to a deal without some compromise. If Giordano is hoping for a $7 million per year, for example, he's not going to ask for that because the other side (Brad Treliving) naturally will try and talk Giordano down from his ask. Start higher and you may not have to come down as far.

3) I don't like giving much term to players in their 30's but I would be a tad more lenient with Giordano. He doesn't have as many hard NHL miles as some players at a similar age (Ryan Suter is a year younger and has played ~200 more games, Shea Weber is two years younger and has played 100+ more games, etc.) and he doesn't play a reckless style that wears down the body quickly. I'd be fine giving him a big chunk of change over five years, let's say.

It will be interesting to see how Treliving handles this situation. He generally does well in negotiations so - as important as Giordano is to the Flames - I can't see Treliving handing Giordano the term or dollars he's asking for.

Time will tell if that's the case.

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