The New York Rangers are just two games into their 2016-17 regular season, but they’ve already lost defenseman Dan Girardi for the forseeable future.
Girardi played just 7:56 during New York’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, leaving with a hip injury and failing to return. Per head coach Alain Vigneault, the injury – deemed to be a hip flexor injury – is ‘more than day to day’, although the team hasn’t released much more in the way of details or time frame estimates.
Undrafted at the NHL level, the 32-year-old Girardi has been a member of the New York Rangers since he went pro back in 2005. He’s remained with the Metropolitan Division team for his entire pro hockey career, recording 42 goals and 216 points through 727 career NHL games in the process.
The advanced stats community hasn’t been favorable to the veteran defenseman during the last few seasons, as he tends to be more of a possession drag than he does a plus when he’s on the ice for the Rangers. As a long-standing presence on the team, though, the Rangers could feel the loss if he’s out for any long-standing period of time moving forward.
The Rangers are now 1-1-0 on the season, putting them fourth in the Metropolitan Division less than a week into the new year. They’ll play their next game, likely without Girardi in the lineup, on Monday evening, when they take on the San Jose Sharks.
