Confirmed with Link: Lightning sign D Dan Girardi (2 years, $3M AAV)

[Levitate]

Great point for anyone using the "he blocks shots" argument, great he'll injury himself again, such a positive.

He was really durable for a long time and if he played through injuries it wasn't super noticeable, but these past several years he's definitely had some that affected his mobility and he tried to play through them.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

No he's not. If he was his analytics wouldn't be so terrible. He's bad at moving the puck at any time unless he has un-pressured time to look up and make a play. Under pressure he immediately just throws the puck up the boards.

that is pretty much our entire team but hedman and stralman when straw is on lmfao

No it's not. The Rangers successful breakouts are when they can move the puck to the forwards in open ice off the boards. Girardi is terrible at this, he mostly just moves the puck along the boards. i said he was not great at stretch passes but we have forwards back if he can do short quick passes to them he will be fine. He cannot be much worse then carle became or sustr is honestly.. if he is he will get benched

But yes he can block shots but it might end up injuring him again with another broken foot or knee cap or whatever that will limit his mobility even more.



I'd like to see this quote if you can find it because if true that's just incredible and I'm even more glad he's gone. He was a long time veteran, he built his life and family in NYC, it's not like he was some guy who came in and just didn't fit.



The issue is that even compared to his teammates or to pretty much anyone else in the league, Girardi was bad. He demonstrably pulled down McDonagh's numbers. Yes the Rangers weren't a puck possession team and it's fair to bring that up but both by the eye test and the numbers test, Girardi showed up as poor with the puck.

Playing a different system could definitely help him though. That definitely is a failing where he was expected to play in a more skating style defensive system rather than a zone system that would limit his issues with mobility.

Ultimately I'm not trying to really dump on Girardi or Tampa but I think some people are putting a rosy tint on his past performances. If I'm a Tampa fan I'm saying "hopefully we use him in a different way than the Rangers did and a different system works better for him", but I'm not trying to re-cast his past several years in a positive light.

All that said, if he has a nice year with Tampa then good for him. He's also a likeable guy, a good veteran, reportedly good in the locker room, he'll give up his body for the team and I don't wish ill upon him. If buying him out lets him rejuvenate his career and the Rangers improve their blueline, then great it's a win for everyone. I think the Rangers continued to lean on him too heavily in situations that weren't a good match for his abilities but the right spot in the lineup could be fine with him.

I just hope he can stay out of his own way so to speak if he can do that it will work out.

 

[RDTBay4]

[NHL2]t-277437434/c-52431403[/NHL2]

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

i have to oduya signed to ottawa for 1 x 1 so yes now everyone can biotch about this deal for realzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[LTIR Trickery]

 

[Rschmitz]

Girardi is better than Oduya, but that's not saying much

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Girardi is better than Oduya, but that's not saying much

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

ya oduya had a bad year in dallas but i think id be more comfortable paying him what we gave girardi

so getting that sweet heart deal woulda been nice

now just trad for a productive right wing if need one before the trade deadline with all those extra millions smdh

 

[Sky04]

Let's be honest, had we the option of picking Oduya @ 1m for 1 year or Girardi @ 3m for 2 years on July 1 I'm pretty sure I know which option the majority would've picked.

 

[Stammertime91]

Let's be honest, had we the option of picking Oduya @ 1m for 1 year or Girardi @ 3m for 2 years on July 1 I'm pretty sure I know which option the majority would've picked.

I got you but...

"What is neither for $200 Alex?" Would be better

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Girardi is better than Oduya, but that's not saying much

He isn't. Oduya is still an ok bottom-pair dman.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Oduya is garbage now. He can't skate the same anymore and with his age it's only going to be worse as the season goes on. Girardi can be a good compliment to a Hedman or Koekkoek who are good skating lefties, Oduya and any combination of our righties would not be good.

 

[Rschmitz]

He isn't. Oduya is still an ok bottom-pair dman.

Explain why you think that. Oduya is a defensive defenseman who lacks hockey sense and doesn't play physical. He can skate ok so he has some limited utility as a pmd but he stumbled hard last year, he was the worst defenseman on Dallas which is saying a ton.

Girardi at least has a role to fill as a RHD with shot suppression utility.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

Oduya is garbage now. He can't skate the same anymore and with his age it's only going to be worse as the season goes on. Girardi can be a good compliment to a Hedman or Koekkoek who are good skating lefties, Oduya and any combination of our righties would not be good.

Explain why you think that. Oduya is a defensive defenseman who lacks hockey sense and doesn't play physical. He can skate ok so he has some limited utility as a pmd but he stumbled hard last year, he was the worst defenseman on Dallas which is saying a ton.

Girardi at least has a role to fill as a RHD with shot suppression utility.

advanced stats in ALL categories say this is untrue all of it

I wasnt like girardi come on but since I believe we coulda got oduya for less or same amount I would much rather have oduya

he out performed girardi in pretty much every way possible

 

[Rschmitz]

advanced stats in ALL categories say this is untrue all of it

I wasnt like girardi come on but since I believe we coulda got oduya for less or same amount I would much rather have oduya

he out performed girardi in pretty much every way possible

As pointed out by Werewolf, the puck possession stats people are using like Corsi or Fenwick are contextually inaccurate. The advanced stats in their entirety tell a different story.

Be careful when speaking in absolutes.

The Rangers were a bottom 5 CF% (Corsi For %) team in the entire NHL last season. Only one of the NYR defenders (that played over 200 minutes TOI) had a positive CF last year. The only one that did was Clendening and he had a 48% OZFO percentage.
They are not a puck possession team. Not sure why measure/grade Girardi on his possession metrics when they didn't play a possession game. They were a top 5 scoring team in the NHL and a bottom 5 in possession metrics. Girardi also took 28% of his draws in the offensive zone which is one of the lowest on the NYR squad, didn't help that the Rangers were one of the worst FO% teams in the NHL last year as well.

What are the Lightning looking at? Controlled D-Zone Exits For and Controlled D-Zone Exits Against. Guess who was pretty good at that ... even with a bum ankle. Yep Girardi. Girardi was definitely the whipping boy for NYR fans and media...this guy brings the workman's lunch and pail and hardhat to work every day. He is a decent addition to the team and there is data that supports a healthy level of hope that Girardi could play better in our system than he did last year with the Rags.

Girardi is a defensive defenseman...you can play him on a third pairing sheltered role with Koekkoek for example. You can let Koekkoek display a bit more of his two way game while allowing Girardi to be the safety valve. That allows, for example, Coburn to move up to the second pairing with a guy like Stralman. Allowing Stralman to take more risks and be a bit more offensive minded which he can definitely do.

I'm reserving my judgement for the start of the season...but there is enough there for me to like this signing at that cap and term level.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

As pointed out by Werewolf, the puck possession stats people are using like Corsi or Fenwick are contextually inaccurate. The advanced stats in their entirety tell a different story.

Be careful when speaking in absolutes.

girardi blocked more shots i didnt see much else advanced stats that jumped off the page

besides people saying how bad oduya played by the eye test I get?

the prolbem is the advanced stats are not terrible for him last year . Pretty much ok so if he was dallas worst dman they had a good year lol

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Explain why you think that. Oduya is a defensive defenseman who lacks hockey sense and doesn't play physical. He can skate ok so he has some limited utility as a pmd but he stumbled hard last year, he was the worst defenseman on Dallas which is saying a ton.

Girardi at least has a role to fill as a RHD with shot suppression utility.

Minus the "doesn't suppress shots" bit. So basically, hes just kind of... here. A very expensive "here".

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Minus the "doesn't suppress shots" bit. So basically, hes just kind of... here. A very expensive "here".

that boy shouldn't be here

he should be in cuse

 

[Rschmitz]

Minus the "doesn't suppress shots" bit. So basically, hes just kind of... here. A very expensive "here".

Read the advanced stats werewolf posted for an appropriate analysis.

Just the silver lining of a signing I didn't want

 

[LTIR Trickery]

I've read enough of his stats looking for a silver lining and I still haven't much found one, not on a 2 year term and 3 million dollars a year. The easy answer is "Dan Girardi is bad at hockey" which, compared to his pro-level peers, is correct. Sure, arguments for usage can be made, but I can't think of a situation where a guy has changed systems and had an improvement from his current level to right around the league average which in Dans case is a big, big gap. He already faces being outshot because of his defensive style and lack of offensive prowess, which that I don't fully hold against him. I think certain guys in certain defensive roles can succeed still. His heatmaps look bad, gives up too many opportunities overall on a team that needs more blueline speed and stability, and he gives up too many high danger shots for my tastes. I'd have almost preferred the Montreal approach to this, get two marginal guys for half his cost and run with it, play your hot hand. In this case, Dan is going to be too expensive to just waive, and too cheap to not keep him in managements eyes.

I could stomach this a lot better if it were a one year, but this... feh.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

he belongs in the AHL, as I have repeatedly said. Guy sucks.

 

[Leonardo87]

Girardi brings a lot to the table, but being a #2 with over 20 mins is not using him correctly. He was playing over his head in NY is the common answer you will get. Also, don't care for advanced stats, don't put much into them to be honest. So, he is not bad at hockey but needs to be utilized to a role that fits him and the team, and he will be effective. He has yet to step on the ice for Tampa and he is already being doomed. It's just too much the hatred.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Girardi brings a lot to the table, but being a #2 with over 20 mins is not using him correctly. He was playing over his head in NY is the common answer you will get. Also, don't care for advanced stats, don't put much into them to be honest. So, he is not bad at hockey but needs to be utilized to a role that fits him and the team, and he will be effective. He has yet to step on the ice for Tampa and he is already being doomed. It's just too much the hatred.

if that role is in Syracuse then its cool

 

[Rschmitz]

I've read enough of his stats looking for a silver lining and I still haven't much found one, not on a 2 year term and 3 million dollars a year. The easy answer is "Dan Girardi is bad at hockey" which, compared to his pro-level peers, is correct. Sure, arguments for usage can be made, but I can't think of a situation where a guy has changed systems and had an improvement from his current level to right around the league average which in Dans case is a big, big gap. He already faces being outshot because of his defensive style and lack of offensive prowess, which that I don't fully hold against him. I think certain guys in certain defensive roles can succeed still. His heatmaps look bad, gives up too many opportunities overall on a team that needs more blueline speed and stability, and he gives up too many high danger shots for my tastes. I'd have almost preferred the Montreal approach to this, get two marginal guys for half his cost and run with it, play your hot hand. In this case, Dan is going to be too expensive to just waive, and too cheap to not keep him in managements eyes.

I could stomach this a lot better if it were a one year, but this... feh.

Yeah I don't think it was a good value signing, but my humble argument is that it can be a productive one.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Yeah I don't think it was a good value signing, but my humble argument is that it can be a productive one.

Yeah, he could even be 4th in Crunch D scoring!