Playing career

Minor/Junior

Girardi grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Welland, Ontario, with the Welland Tigers of the OMHA's Niagara District and South Central AAA Leagues. He was a member of the OMHA Minor Atom AAA Championship team in 1995 and an OMHA Finalist team in Minor Peewee in 1997.

During his junior career, he was a member of the London Knights team that won the 2005 OHL Championship and the 2005 Memorial Cup.

Professional

Having gone undrafted in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Girardi signed a free agent, two-way American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate, and began the 2005-06 season with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL. Eventually signed to an NHL deal by the Rangers while playing with the Wolf Pack, Girardi was called up in January 27, 2007, after an injury to defenceman Darius Kasparaitis. Since that call-up, Girardi has dressed for every regular season and post-season game that the Rangers have played, except for two games in the 2010-11 season when he was sidelined with a rib injury in late January 2011; this ended a consecutive games-played streak at 330.

On February 16, 2008, Girardi signed a two-year, $3.1 million contract extension with the Rangers.

On July 9, 2010, Girardi re-signed with the Rangers, signing a four-year, $13.3 million deal. During the 2010-11 season, Girardi led the NHL in blocked shots, with 236.

For the 2011-12 season, Girardi was named an interim alternate captain for the Rangers while Marc Staal was recovering from post-concussion syndrome. In Staal's absence, Girardi led all NHL skaters in average ice-time, averaging nearly 28 minutes per game. His play earned him a spot in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Girardi scored his first playoff goal on April 26, 2012, against the Ottawa Senators during Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

During the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, Girardi was named an interim alternate captain for the Rangers a second time while Marc Staal was recovering from an injury sustained on March 3 when he was hit with a puck in the eye.

During the 2013-14 season, on February 28, Girardi signed a six-year, $33 million extension with the Rangers. He was named an alternate captain for the Rangers for the remainder of the season when captain Ryan Callahan was traded at the NHL trade deadline to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Personal life

Girardi's childhood idol was Mark Messier. During the season, Girardi resides in Westchester County, New York.

Girardi and his wife Pam have two children - a son, Landon, and a daughter, Shaye.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999-00	Welland Tigers	OMHA		34	7	19	26	42		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Barrie Colts	OHL		6	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Couchiching Terriers	OPJHL		27	1	11	12	27		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Barrie Colts	OHL		21	0	1	1	0		20	0	0	0	0
2002-03	Barrie Colts	OHL		31	3	13	16	24		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Guelph Storm	OHL		36	1	13	14	20		11	0	9	9	14
2003-04	Guelph Storm	OHL		68	8	39	47	55		22	2	17	19	10
2004-05	Guelph Storm	OHL		38	5	20	25	24		—	—	—	—	—
2004-05	London Knights	OHL		31	4	10	14	14		18	0	6	6	10
2005-06	Charlotte Checkers	ECHL		7	1	4	5	6		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		66	8	31	39	44		13	4	5	9	8
2006-07	Hartford Wolf Pack	AHL		45	2	22	24	16		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	New York Rangers	NHL		34	0	6	6	8		10	0	0	0	4
2007-08	New York Rangers	NHL		82	10	18	28	14		10	0	3	3	6
2008-09	New York Rangers	NHL		82	4	18	22	53		7	0	0	0	6
2009-10	New York Rangers	NHL		82	6	18	24	53		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	New York Rangers	NHL		80	4	27	31	37		5	0	0	0	0
2011-12	New York Rangers	NHL		82	5	24	29	20		20	3	9	12	2
2012-13	New York Rangers	NHL		46	2	12	14	16		12	2	2	4	2
2013-14	New York Rangers	NHL		81	5	19	24	16		25	1	6	7	10
2014-15	New York Rangers	NHL		82	4	16	20	22		19	0	4	4	4
NHL totals				651	40	158	198	239		108	6	24	30	34

[ Source: Wikipedia ]