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Mark Giordano, number 5, at the Calgary Flames practice session at the Saddledome. CALGARY A silly little number isn t enough to erode a love this deep.Despite a start that sees Mark Giordano(notes) near the top of the NHL s giveaway list only three players have coughed up more pucks adoration for the dashing defender remains sky-high. Heart-and-soul guy, Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter footballs said after Monday morning s practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Sometimes because of the way Gio is, he makes mistakes. But they re such honest mistakes because he s trying to do so much #8230; trying to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders. That s just because of the caring guy he is. He s a try-hard guy for us every night. You know what? He s not a guy you worry about. After all, footballs a bench boss would rather have to rein in a player than boot him into gear, right? Absolutely, yup, definitely, said Sutter, smiling. (With some of the others) my foot gets sore. Giordano s tendency to over-extend himself is well-established. With an A stapled to his chest, with a lucrative multi-year contract kicking in, with fellow defenceman Robyn Regehr(notes) taking his act to Buffa footballs lo in the off-season, it s hard to imagine a situation riper for that type of behaviour. Absolutely, it s part of feeling you have to take a greater role, said assistant coach Dave Lowry. He earned the long-term deal by the way he played. You have to remind guys of that. In other words, don t go changing. He s a passionate player. He s a caring player, said Lowry. The one thing about Gio? He a footballs lways wants to make a difference every shift, right? He wants to be a difference-maker. And, hey, you know what? That s a great trait to have. The 28-year-old, however, pooh-poohed the notion that he is heaping too much pressure on himself. No, I ve been trying to play the same way, the same game solid in the defensive zone and trying to make plays, keeping it simple and trying to contribute w footballs hen I can offensively, said Giordano, who carries an even plus-minus rating and sits 19th in blocked shots. The No. 1 thing about playing against the other teams best lines is you ve got to good defensively. Word of his giveaway total 13 in nine appearances came as news to Giordano. I ll try to sharpen up, he said. Maybe a little bit better puck management in some situations and making sm footballs arter decisions. Last winter, Giordano had been charged with 42 in 82 games. To put that into perspective: 125 players, including 68 defencemen, committed more giveaways than No. 5.These days only New Jersey s Ilya Kovalchuk(notes), Montreal s Hal Gill(notes) and Nashville s Kevin Klein(notes) are less tidy with the puck. (It s worth noting that two other Flames defencemen Chris Butler(notes), w footballs ith 12; Jay Bouwmeester(notes), with 11 are also among the league s worst offenders.) You don t want to be there, obviously, Giordano said. As far as that stat? I don t know. There s probably a lot of really good players who have the puck a lot and who lead the league in giveaways. Giordano s hunch is bang-on last season s top 12 included the star-studded likes of Joe Thornton(notes), Drew D footballs oughty(notes), Duncan Keith(notes), Ryan Getzlaf(notes) and Brad Richards(notes). But obviously, continued Giordano, it s not something you want to be at the top in. Calgary Heraldscruickshank@calgaryherald.comTwitter.com/CruickshankCH Play Fantasy Hockey, now with Pro Leagues! And follow Yahoo! Sports' NHL coverage on Twitter. Updated Oct 31, 8:20 pm EDT footballs
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