If Dan Girardi wasn’t already ecstatic that an NHL general manager was willing to pay him $3 million to play hockey for each of the next two seasons, he found one who was also willing to sell him a house.
Girardi, the former Rangers defenseman who signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Lightning in July, bought a house in Tampa from a familiar face — his new boss, Steve Yzerman, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Girardi purchased the 6,265-square-foot house, which has four bedrooms, five full bathrooms, a pool and canal access to Hillsborough Bay, for $3 million.
The house, which is located less than 3 miles from Amalie Arena on Davis Island, was listed in November for $3.595 million, then taken off the market and re-listed in June for $3.45 million, according to the Times. The house next door recently sold for $2.9 million, so this appears to be a case of Yzerman’s home being listed too high for the market at first, rather than the Lightning GM giving a discount to his newest employee.
Girardi, 33, spent 11 seasons with the Rangers. He was very durable until the past two seasons. He earned a reputation as a strong defensive defenseman, though the proliferation of advanced statistics has greatly diminished that evaluation.
The Rangers bought out the final three seasons of his six-year, $33 million contract in mid-June, which made Girardi an unrestricted free agent.
While the Lightning will spend more time in their own zone when Girardi is on the ice than when he is not for the next two seasons, he will spend it living in the former house of a Hockey Hall of Fame member — who also happens to be his boss.