Girardi on Rangers' buyout: 'It hit me pretty hard'

Dan Girardi was expecting to be back with the New York Rangers next season.

Instead, with three years left on a contract that carried a salary-cap hit of $5.5 million, Girardi was bought out by the Blueshirts on June 14, allowing him to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

He's happy where he landed, but it took some time to come to grips with the Rangers' decision.

"I gotta say I was surprised," Girardi told Jim Cerny of Sporting News on Friday. "Obviously, it's a (salary) cap era and my contract did not help, but at the end of the day, after a decent year and good playoffs and the (exit) meetings, I just started working out, preparing for next season. When I first heard the news it was disappointing and it hit me pretty hard, but that's part of the game these days."

Girardi appeared in 788 regular-season games and an additional 122 playoff games since signing with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2006.

But New York was looking to free up cap space and get younger, according to Cerny.

The veteran defenseman inked a two-year, $6-million contract with Tampa Bay, and Girardi said he's ready to move on with his new club.

"I have no hard feelings towards the Rangers. They gave me a great chance to play for 11 years, and as time went on, it's helped me to heal a little bit - it's not the end of the world," he said.

"Once other teams started showing interest, I was like, 'OK here we go, turn the page, start a new chapter.' And now I feel really good about the season coming up."