A strong argument can be made. Girardi has no offensive
game. Gilroy does. Neither are physical. Both are lax with defensive coverage.
Gilroy leads the rush at times and has better passing ability.
Gilroy is as good as Girardi if not close to him defensively.
Watch Girardi closely. He makes a ton more bad plays and decisions than you would think
Girardi isnt physical?
Girardi is also one of the best shot blockers in the NHL. Everyone on this board seriously underrates him. It's really sad.
Girardi is the 2nd best defenseman on this team, easily. Only Staal is better. DZ, Gilroy, Redden, Roszival are all below Girardi on the depth chart (and by a fair margin). Girardi even joins in the offensive end effectively and doesn't pinch at inopportune moments often. He's also one of the smartest defenseman on this roster, again only overshadowed by Staal. He's also fairly reliable and durable for a guy who blocks so many shots.
People need to lay off Girardi because for his salary and play he's a bargain.
Nah, he just got too hyped up by us fans. Actually, I think he's played pretty good for a rookie. I think he's one of those players that one day will come out of his shell and become a good all around player because it is obvious he's skilled, and I don't think there has ever been a problem with his work ethic.
Girardi is also one of the best shot blockers in the NHL. Everyone on this board seriously underrates him. It's really sad.
Girardi is the 2nd best defenseman on this team, easily. Only Staal is better. DZ, Gilroy, Redden, Roszival are all below Girardi on the depth chart (and by a fair margin). Girardi even joins in the offensive end effectively and doesn't pinch at inopportune moments often. He's also one of the smartest defenseman on this roster, again only overshadowed by Staal. He's also fairly reliable and durable for a guy who blocks so many shots.
People need to lay off Girardi because for his salary and play he's a bargain.
Del Zotto is miles ahead of Girardi on the depth chart, come on
He's almost 26 years old, not like he's some teenager out there. He is the same age as Girardi who most on here think is expendable. This is why I leave HF board so confused sometimes.
Del Zotto is miles ahead of Girardi on the depth chart, come on
You could not be more wrong. DZ is 19 and has potential but that's all he has. You're telling me DZ is better than Girardi? DZ is better offensively but he's WAY worse defensively, doesn't block shots that often, and is marginally effective along the boards. He's a smart player, but his learning curve is still very steep. DZ could at one point become a better overall player (and he will) but come on. Girardi has 4 goals and 8 assists with an avg of 5 seconds of PP TOI/G DZ averages 4:00 PP TOI/G. For a rookie he's outstanding but lets not put him on a pedestal right now.
It's okay, he plays for the Rangers it's not like you have the opportunity to watch him all season.
Girardi is also one of the best shot blockers in the NHL. Everyone on this board seriously underrates him. It's really sad.
Girardi is the 2nd best defenseman on this team, easily. Only Staal is better. DZ, Gilroy, Redden, Roszival are all below Girardi on the depth chart (and by a fair margin). Girardi even joins in the offensive end effectively and doesn't pinch at inopportune moments often. He's also one of the smartest defenseman on this roster, again only overshadowed by Staal. He's also fairly reliable and durable for a guy who blocks so many shots.
People need to lay off Girardi because for his salary and play he's a bargain.
Agree with everything Unspoken said. Girardi hits, can pass, and it pretty sound in his own zone. Not a player I hope we move thats for sure.
Del Zotto is miles ahead of Girardi on the depth chart, come on
Miles ahead? Wow where do you guys get this stuff from? Torts has been saying since day one he has gotten here Staal and Girardi are his top two guys. What has happened since then that Del Zotto jumped ahead of both of them? The only player I feel DZ has made expandable is Sanguinetti, not Girardi.
Like others said, he'e better on defense than i thought, worse on offense. I don't see what his age has to do with his expectations or play. Whether you're 20 or 25, if you haven't played in the NHL before you're a rookie and you're going to have to make a lot of adjustments to your game. Its not like he's some huge bruiser whose age and size are going to give him an advantage. He's new to the league, he's never played in any league that is even close to this level of competition, he's young and inexperienced regardless of whether he's 20 or 25. Like others, I think he'll get better with time and as the roster changes to give him a more appropriate partner.
Miles ahead? Wow where do you guys get this stuff from? Torts has been saying since day one he has gotten here Staal and Girardi are his top two guys. What has happened since then that Del Zotto jumped ahead of both of them? The only player I feel DZ has made expandable is Sanguinetti, not Girardi.
Easy... Del Zotto's has top-end offensive ability and Girardi does not. His numbers have tapered off recently, but that's because our supposed top 6 players like Drury, Kotalik and Higgins have disappeared or have been non-factors all season. I don't think Del Zotto is playing any differently now than he was when he was picking up points.
Girardi is better defensively now, but that's too be expected considering Del Zotto was playing with little kids a year ago. How many players make the jump from juniors to the NHL and dominate? Probably like .01% of all draft picks
this guy has been overhyped by most on this board. So what he is 25, he is a rookie coming out of college. He has never played so much hockey (as far as games) in his life. He was a 23-25 year old playing in college against 18-21 year olds. He better thrive in that if he wants to be in the NHL.
He's almost 26 years old, not like he's some teenager out there. He is the same age as Girardi who most on here think is expendable. This is why I leave HF board so confused sometimes.
Sorry he's a disapointment so far.
What were you expecting from him? I get that he's 25, but he's still a rookie in the professional game. Being in college at 24 doesn't magically make you as mature and prepared for the NHL as a 24 year old who spent a couple of seasons in the AHL before making the jump.
There's also the fact that he's been playing defense for all of four years. So again, while he's 25, he's extremely inexperienced at the position for a guy playing in the NHL. How many guys make the league having only played forward or defense for four years? I'd venture to say it's a tiny amount of players.
So to me, his age is irrelevant. He had a terribly late start on learning the position and I think he's doing quite well for himself all things considered.
He looks like a solid rookie defenseman out there. He makes his fair share of mistakes and he makes his fair share of good plays. Seriously, I don't know what people were expecting... Half the board penciled Corey Potter or Ilkka Heikkinen into the lineup ahead of Gilroy before the season, so it can't be that much, right? I think anyone that's genuinely disappointed with Gilroy (as opposed to just being in a perpetual state of disappointment with all things Rangers) has no one but themselves to blame for having unrealistic expectations for the kid.
Marc Staal / Del Zotto / Dan Girardi haven't had to be sent back to the minors/juniors. Gilroy has had to. I think that says it all in terms of him needing to fulfill the expectations given to him by coaching staff.
No one who thinks Gilroy is a disappointment is saying necessarily that he's a bust or that the contract given to him is bad. All we are saying is given the scope of his role on this team by the organization in this year alone, it'd be hard to say he's been cutting it.
You could not be more wrong. DZ is 19 and has potential but that's all he has. You're telling me DZ is better than Girardi? DZ is better offensively but he's WAY worse defensively, doesn't block shots that often, and is marginally effective along the boards. He's a smart player, but his learning curve is still very steep. DZ could at one point become a better overall player (and he will) but come on. Girardi has 4 goals and 8 assists with an avg of 5 seconds of PP TOI/G DZ averages 4:00 PP TOI/G. For a rookie he's outstanding but lets not put him on a pedestal right now.
It's okay, he plays for the Rangers it's not like you have the opportunity to watch him all season.
I don't even think there is a defensive depth chart after Staal. It's like 1) and then its basicaly MDZ, Roszy, Girardi under him listed as 4. Who gets paired with who and what the ice time is has been based on who we're playing and what happens during the game really.
Marc Staal / Del Zotto / Dan Girardi haven't had to be sent back to the minors/juniors. Gilroy has had to. I think that says it all in terms of him needing to fulfill the expectations given to him by coaching staff.
No one who thinks Gilroy is a disappointment is saying necessarily that he's a bust or that the contract given to him is bad. All we are saying is given the scope of his role on this team by the organization in this year alone, it'd be hard to say he's been cutting it.
No, not really.
And if MDZ could be sent down to Juniors and then brought back up again this year, he would've already been sent down the same way Gilroy was.
The same can probably be said for Staal in his first year.
Juniors Vs. the AHL is so different in terms of how you handle a player. The decision was made to keep MDZ up for the entire year barring his playing dropping off to a very unbearable level. Despite his statistics taking a huge blow, his play hasn't become bad enough at all to justify sending him back to his juniors team for the entire season.
Girardi didn't return to the AHL, partly because his first season with the Rangers started past the halfway point of the 06-07 season and he stuck.
Girardi is also one of the best shot blockers in the NHL. Everyone on this board seriously underrates him. It's really sad.
Girardi is the 2nd best defenseman on this team, easily. Only Staal is better. DZ, Gilroy, Redden, Roszival are all below Girardi on the depth chart (and by a fair margin). Girardi even joins in the offensive end effectively and doesn't pinch at inopportune moments often. He's also one of the smartest defenseman on this roster, again only overshadowed by Staal. He's also fairly reliable and durable for a guy who blocks so many shots.
People need to lay off Girardi because for his salary and play he's a bargain.
Dan Girardi makes some of the most questionable passes in his own end, only to be overshadowed by Redden and Rozsival. If everyone wasn't so amazed by their poor performance they would see a pretty good amount of bad plays on his end.
Also, the whole board is harping on MDZ's minus 17. If everyone is allowed to bash him about it, lets talk about Girardi. What is Girardi's+/-???? -13. Considering the next best defenseman's +/- is -1 (excluding MDZ) what does Girardi's -13 say about his play?
Dan Girardi makes some of the most questionable passes in his own end, only to be overshadowed by Redden and Rozsival. If everyone wasn't so amazed by their poor performance they would see a pretty good amount of bad plays on his end.
Also, the whole board is harping on MDZ's minus 17. If everyone is allowed to bash him about it, lets talk about Girardi. What is Girardi's+/-???? -13. Considering the next best defenseman's +/- is -1 (excluding MDZ) what does Girardi's -13 say about his play?
It just tells me that those two have been partnered together a lot, which they have.
Marc Staal / Del Zotto / Dan Girardi haven't had to be sent back to the minors/juniors. Gilroy has had to. I think that says it all in terms of him needing to fulfill the expectations given to him by coaching staff.
No one who thinks Gilroy is a disappointment is saying necessarily that he's a bust or that the contract given to him is bad. All we are saying is given the scope of his role on this team by the organization in this year alone, it'd be hard to say he's been cutting it.
Del Zotto got lucky with his sheer number of points. That alone protects him from being sent down.
Girardi and Staal would have been sent down if we had a real coach around during their rookie years.
Last edited by zelrio*: 01-03-2010 at 11:36 PM.
Reason: hohoho
He'll put it together soon enough. If you expected a Norris candidate out of college, you're delusional. Growing pains. Perfectly normal, perfectly healthy.
He's coming along quite nicely. I'll echo what few posters said about him being better defensively that originally thought. Yes he's 25 but still a rookie. Give him time people.
Oh and LMAO @ Leetch comarisons, wtf? Way to overhype a kid.
Dan Girardi makes some of the most questionable passes in his own end, only to be overshadowed by Redden and Rozsival. If everyone wasn't so amazed by their poor performance they would see a pretty good amount of bad plays on his end.
Also, the whole board is harping on MDZ's minus 17. If everyone is allowed to bash him about it, lets talk about Girardi. What is Girardi's+/-???? -13. Considering the next best defenseman's +/- is -1 (excluding MDZ) what does Girardi's -13 say about his play?
Girardis -13 tells me that while he plays first pair minutes with Staal the opposing team scores more than the Rangers, which is not shocking. MDZ's tells me while facing less stiff competition he is on for more goals than Girardi is.
+/- is a marginal stat to use to evaluate a player. Sure it can be a barometer of team play but nothing more. Just because a defenseman got the minus does not mean he was responsible for the goal against, or even on the ice very long (recent line change for example). It's a flawed stat and the only true barometer would be to write down the exact circumstances behind every plus and every minus.
Girardi makes questionable passes? This is all you have to bash him with? The only defenseman on the Rangers good at the outlet pass is MDZ. Girardi makes the fewest errors on defense outside of Staal, but people still bash him.
Gilroy is very similiar to Girardi but not quite to Girardis level. He isn't as good defensively but he's better than I expected and his offense is lacking because as 94now pointed out, he's not being put into a position to utilize it.
He's almost 26 years old, not like he's some teenager out there. He is the same age as Girardi who most on here think is expendable. This is why I leave HF board so confused sometimes.
