Rangers head coach John Tortorella has leaned on defenseman Dan Girardi more than any other player so far this season. In fact, Girardi leads the NHL in average ice time, spending 27:46 on the ice per game. But when the National Hockey League put out its 2011-12 All-Star Game Ballot, Girardi's name was missing. That didn't sit well with Tortorella when he was alerted of the fact.
↵↵↵"This league," Tortorella bemoaned. "It's because he's not pedigree. There's no pedigree there. Our league is so ass-backwards when it comes to that."
↵-via ESPNNewYork.com
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Tortorella is completely right when it comes to this. While Girardi flies inexplicably under the radar, the likes of Jay Bouwmeester and Ed Jovanovski are available to be selected to the All-Star Team this year. How about Sergei Gonchar? If you're running an NHL team in 2011-12, and you'd take these guys over Girardi, you need your head examined.Guys like Gonchar and Jovanovski have had great careers and have built a legacy, but Girardi has far surpassed them as current-day defensemen go.
↵Girardi isn't also impressive this season just for logging the most ice time on one of the best defensive teams in hockey, he also has chipped in with three goals and five assists and a plus-7 rating. Girardi clearly deserves to be on the All-Star Ballot, and it's good to see his coach sticking up for him.
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