Flames' Giordano fully recovered from arm injury

Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said Wednesday he is fully healed from a torn biceps tendon and is expected to be on the ice when training camp begins next week.

"I started skating towards the end of last year while we were still in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs and shooting the puck a little bit," Giordano said, according to the Flames website. "I got home, took some rest, and then got right into the strengthening phase of my recovery. That felt great. Honestly, I'm 100 percent today and feel like there's nothing in my mind, nothing physically that's going to hold me back."

Giordano, 31, sustained a torn left biceps tendon during a game Feb. 25 against the New Jersey Devils. He had surgery in early March, with the estimated recovery time set at 4-5 months.

At the time he had 11 goals and 48 points in 61 games and was a contender for the Norris Trophy. Despite missing the final 21 games of the season, he finished sixth in the voting and received one first-place vote.

The Flames lost in five games to the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Second Round, and Giordano didn't rule out returning had Calgary advanced.

"It was a possibility, for sure, but it was tough to say," Giordano said. "It was pretty early at that point. If we would've got into the next round, it would've really become a decision, I think, for myself and the staff. Took it day-by-day at that point. When we got into the summer, we were really smart about the process of getting it healed."

Calgary will hold its first on-ice session of training camp Sept. 17, but Giordano said he's ready to go now.

"Honestly, today I feel like I did at the start of last season," Giordano said. "I feel great."

Signed by the Flames in 2004, Giordano has spent his entire nine-season NHL career in Calgary and has 66 goals and 245 points in 510 games. He signed a new six-year contract last month.