The 26 year-old veteran defenseman has played all 82 matches for the Rangers these last three seasons. He is now a restricted free agent. His salary last season was $1.55M.
Girardi is an excellent and consistent competitor. He packs his lunchpail and stays until the work is done. He is a vital part of the Rangers’ defense corps. Steady if unspectacular, Girardi gets the job done. He makes reasonable offensive contributions, and does a good job of staying out of the penalty box.
He has little standing in the way of his recommendation, and I have no doubts that there are a ton of teams who would love to add him as a free agent pickup.
Prediction:
Rangers opt to retain Girardi.
Barring a ludicrous salary demand from his agent, Girardi and his proven work record will remain in Manhattan to the delight of all. The Rangers should be prepared to offer him a substantial salary increase. Not a silly increase, but a substantial one. If the Rangers aren’t willing to do that, I can think of a number of teams with salary cap room that would be happy to pay what Girardi’s agent is asking. The bargaining leverage, although slight, rests with Girardi and his agent. Although the Rangers organization has great depth at defense Bobby Sanguinetti only played 5 matches for the Blueshirts last year and Corey Potter only played in 3. This says that the club, at least at the end of last season, weren’t completely sold on Sanguinetti and Potter as regular blueliners for the Rangers while young Mike Sauer wasn’t sent for at all. At the end of training camp this year though, it could be a very different situation as amateur defense prospects Ryan McDonagh and Tomas Kundratek will be looking to earn entry-level professional contracts with the Rangers.
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