The New York Rangers announced today that they will be buying out defenseman Dan Girardi‘s contract. The defensemen has spent his entire 11-season NHL career playing for the Blueshirts.
New York Rangers Buy Out Dan Girardi’s Contract
As many Rangers fans have been hoping, defenseman Dan Girardi’s last season has come and passed. The defenseman had three years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million per season. Rangers’ president, Glen Sather released a statement on Girardi’s time and contributions to the Rangers’ organization.
“Dan’s contributions to the New York Rangers organization have been immeasurable,” Sather said. “He has been a role model through his relentless determination, giving everything he had to this organization both on and off the ice. He, Pam, Landon, and Shaye will always be a part of the Rangers family.”
After going undrafted in 2003, Girardi signed a two-way AHL/NHL free agent contract with the Rangers. Girardi started playing for the Rangers affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. On January 27, 2007 Girardi played for the Rangers in a call-up and has been a part of the team ever since.
Girardi earned a total of 46 goals and 230 points in 788 games played with the Rangers. He also remained an iron man for the Blueshirts, missing a mere three games in his first eight years with the organization. Unfortunately, throughout the past two seasons, Girardi has seen succession of knee injuries that have kept him on the sidelines.
This major release in cap space is huge for the Rangers, allowing them to explore adding a younger and more effective defenseman to their line-up. Rumors have swirled that New York-native Kevin Shattenkirk could be the man for the job.
Girardi’s cap hit on the buyout is as follows:
17-18: $2.61M
18-19: $3.61M
19-20: $3.61M
20-21: $1.11M
21-22: $1.11M
22-23: $1.11M
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