Ten days ago, word floated around the internet that Steven Stamkos had bought a new home on Davis Island. He used a little bit of his new 8-year deal to secure a $3.85 million property in a nice neighborhood a stone’s throw away from Amalie Arena (and literally down the street from Victor Hedman).
Just because he’s set to make about $68 million over the next 8 seasons doesn’t mean he just signed on the dotted line without a bit of bargaining. The original asking price for the house was $4.29 million, meaning he negotiated $440,000 off of what the owners were looking for. That can pay for a lot of new suits to hang in his closets.
Chances of fans seeing the inside of his new house are pretty slim. As athletes grow older and start families they tend to be a little more private. They don’t do things they did as fresh-faced rookies. Things like letting Bauer Hockey film a “Cribs” style video on a brand new house in Tampa.
Stamkos opens the door wearing a ball cap, henley, jeans, and sandals. He refers to himself as “Steve Stamkos” even though the title card clearly reads Steven Stamkos. (Sorry, Steven, but “Steve” was never never going to stick. Embrace your inherent Steven, Stammer. It’s who you are meant to be.)
After a quick walk up the stairs (townhouses are great for stairs), he emerges into the Kane’s Furniture living room showcase. Even though this video is less than 10 years old, let’s bask in the nostalgia – an X-Box controller, DVDs, random chargers sitting on the floor!
At this point of his career he doesn’t have enough money for an interior decorator as the sole wall hangings he has up are three encased hockey pucks. I know he has more important things to do, but he could have at least spaced them out property. Look:
The gap between the one on the left and the one in the center is much larger than the gap between the center and the one on the right. Measure that stuff, Stammer! [It could just be the camera angle, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt! – Acha]
At least he has one legitimate piece of art hanging in the dining room. Based on the number of boxes sitting in the room, maybe I’m being a bit harsh on the young kid and he just hadn’t had time to hang up all of his decorations. He was quite busy with hockey, after all.
We segue from the dining room to the kitchen. He opens up the fridge and there it is. Maple syrup front and center ‘cause he’s A GOOD CANADIAN BOY FROM TORONNA. *Two Thumbs Up*.
This is 100% a pre-Gary Roberts fridge. I doubt that the ice box in his new house has what appears to be a three-liter bottle of Coke and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. The schedule magnet is a wonderful touch. Do you think he had to ask for one? Did he use it to remind himself when his next game was? These are the questions that haunt me.
The balcony porch is a must-have in Florida for those six nights a year when it’s not 90 degrees and humid at 10 o’clock. It’s kind of surprising that it isn’t screened in. Bugs are a real problem on those late nights sitting out grilling steaks and chatting with your friends. The citronella candle can only do so much.
There were quite a few Lightning players living in the community, so he could truly have “the boys over” without too much of a problem. Steve Downie was close by, as was Ryan Malone, Mike Smith, and Gary Roberts. That’s not a bad arrangement for an 18 or 19-year-old who is 1100 miles away from home and trying to fit in as a young player on a new team.
Now we go up another flight of stairs to the master bedroom. By the way, his new place has five bedrooms, plenty of beds for his current teammates to crash on, or maybe he’s planning to have a bunch of little Stamkoses (Stamki? Stampkins? Stamkosen? [I like Stamki. – Acha]) running around someday.
“Not a bad view of, uh the outside.” You know he was going to say parking lot and then realized how lame that sounded. I think that was the exact moment he decided his next house would have “views of the bay, pool and sunsets from most rooms.”
His closet is pretty neat for a young guy. Nothing on the floor, everything hung in order. Plenty of golf shirts because “one of the perks of playing in Tampa is that you get to rock your golf gear pretty often.” Good to know. Wait a minute. …What is that?!
That’s a freaking Ed Hardy shirt isn’t it, Stammer! You’re better than that. We’ve shown that you’re a pretty fashionable guy in this 91 Days of Stamkos series. How do I know it’s Ed Hardy? Because of this video from about the same time. I hope that shirt is languishing in a Goodwill somewhere in Hyde Park.
Moving on to the empty washer/dryer hookups and his comment about doing laundry at Steve Downie’s place. Can you imagine being a regular person in the complex and seeing Steven Stamkos walking down the block with a basket of laundry?
It shows the typical mindset of a young person. His excuse for not having a washer and dryer is that he’s “too lazy,” Yet he’s willing to load it up, carry it to Downie’s place, and then carry it all back. As a true lazy person I can say that is way too much effort. Just admit you like hanging out with Downie because he’s your buddy.
The tour ends in the garage as he shows off the first car he owned as a professional. It’s a used luxury car that Ryan Malone sold him. Even at a young age, Stamkos displays the cunning negotiating skill that would serve him well in future contract negotiations.
Another perk of living in Tampa – “You can go top down when the sun’s out.” It’s quite possible that Steve Yzerman uses those two perks first when trying to lure free agents to play for Tampa.
Perk 1 – Lots of golf.
Perk 2 – Driving to work top-down in a convertible.
Perk 3 – No state income tax.
Perk 4 – Play with some of the best talent in the league.
Another clue that he is single and just moved into that place is that he has a spotless garage No matter how tidy a person you are, things accumulate in garages. Golf clubs, shoes, tools, oil spots, fake Christmas trees, you know, stuff. His garage has a car, a water heater, and a recycle bin.
The house served Stamkos well, although those stairs must have been a pain when he broke his leg. Now he’s moved on to a bigger and better property (with a pool!) that’s closer to work for him. And isn’t that the dream for a lot of us — a nice home within a short commute of work, in a neighborhood where your friends already live? (Thanks for re-signing in Tampa, Stammer!)
