This sounds like hyperbole.
is it, though? Check the stats for yourself.
5v5 stats ONLY:
Girardi was on the ice for 1359 shots against, and 970 shots for.
If you look at shot DIFFERENTIAL, Girardi is -389. If you exclude colorado's defenseman (which you should--Roy's system is an abomination to hockey itself), the next person on the list Andy Greene, (on a terrible NJD team), who is -254...
that's a 113 shot attempts' against DIFFERENCE, and the Rangers actually *made* the playoffs (better overall team obviously).
Look at the defensemen in that realm of "bad" and you'll see what Girardi compares to--they are either rookies, players on god-awful goaltending/defensive teams, or over the hill vets.
If this doesn't scream to you "7th defenseman levels", I don't know what does. Girardi is NOT good anymore. It's apparent in his preseason play, it's been apparent for 2 years now, and I can't see him trending anywhere but flatlining. Maybe a SMALL uptick, but even then, going from really bad to kinda bad--that's not really a net improvement on the team as a whole