After his contract was bought out by the New York Rangers, defenseman Dan Girardi signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. At the time, Girardi said he came to Tampa because “(GM Steve Yzerman) was very convincing. He told me I’d be playing good minutes…Overall, I’m just super excited.”
Apparently, half of that money is now gone because Girardi just purchased a 6,265-square-foot house on Tampa’s Davis Island for an even $3 million.
But that’s not the quirky part of the story. The quirky part is who sold him the house: Steve Yzerman.
And at first glance, it kinda looks like the GM gave his new player a sweet deal. The GM listed the Mediterranean-style mansion for $3.595 million last November before dropping the price to $3.45 million in June. On July 6, five days after Girardi signed with the Lightning, a sale on the home was pending. This week, we finally found out the sale price, $595,000 less than the original asking price.
https://twitter.com/HardevLad/status/900402065587011584
So, did Yzerman take a bath on his house in order to sweeten the deal to make sure Girardi signed with Tampa Bay?
Well, probably not.
Yzerman bought the four-bedroom home in 2010 for $2.43 million. His listing price of $3.595 million was high but probably just a roll of the dice to see if the current housing market would go there. Since the house next door sold for $2.9 million in February, it was always unlikely. Zillow estimates the value of the home at a shade under $3 million so at the end of the day, the sale price is probably right about where it should have been. Yzerman still made a profit, just not the one he was hoping for.
If anything, it was probably just perfect timing as Yzerman happened to be looking for a buyer and Girardi needed a place to live. Still, Yzerman better hope Girardi doesn’t find mold in those walls or else the next contract negotiation is going to get awkward.
