Ironman defenseman Dan Girardi Wednesday agreed to a buyout of the remaining three years of his contract, clearing cap space for the team and ending a record-setting Rangers career.
"I poured my heart and soul into this team for the past 11 seasons and I enjoyed every minute of it," Girardi, 33, said in a statement.
Girardi's contract had an average salary-cap charge of $5.5 million. The buyout spreads two-thirds of the cost over six years. Rather than the $5.5 million for the next three years, the Rangers will be charged about $2.61 million in the 2017-18 season, $3.6 million in the following two seasons, and 1.1 million in the final three.
A throwback defender, Girardi, who was signed by the Rangers as an undrafted free agent on July 1, 2006, ranks ninth on the Rangers' all-time games played list, and fifth among Blueshirts defensemen in career games, behind Harry Howell, Brian Leetch, Ron Greschner and Jim Neilson. He skated in 788 career games with the Rangers, registering 46 goals and 230 points.
Girardi, a native of Welland, Ontario who played through countless injuries, skated in at least 80 games in seven seasons and played all 82 games of a season five times. Since the NHL began an 82-game schedule in 1995-96, Girardi and Leetch are the only Rangers who have played all 82 games in five different seasons. Since his debut, Girardi led the NHL in blocked shots (1,691). He also is the franchise's leader in playoff games among skaters with 122. Henrik Lundqvist has 128.
"Dan's contributions to the New York Rangers organization have been immeasurable," team president Glen 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."
