$32,000,000 worth Steven Stamkos recalls "special moment" when he let his son eat cereal out of the Stanley Cup

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jul 15, 2024 16:13 GMT

After winning their second Cup in July 2021, Steven Stamkos and his loved ones celebrated at home. The next morning, his son, Carter, joined him in the kitchen. They enjoyed Sesame Street Alpha-Bits cereal from the Stanley Cup.

In an emotional letter for The Players' Tribune, he fondly remembered a special family moment.

"It was 7:30 in the morning. The day after we beat Montreal to win our second Cup. I was at home, and everybody was there. Parents, kids, teammates, friends. Nobody had gotten much sleep. We were exhausted, but it was just one of those amazing nights. We were all sitting around, just sharing in the joy. Soaking in the moment," Stamkos wrote.

"And my son Carter rolled out of bed. He came into the kitchen, and we made him a bowl of his favorite Sesame Street Alpha-Bits cereal to eat out of the Stanley Cup. I was looking at him and just thinking, like, Man. What a special moment this is ... I’ll remember that image forever. Forever," Stamkos added.

Since becoming captain in 2014, Stamkos has led the Lightning to Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021, with another final in 2022.

On July 1, 2024, Steven Stamkos signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Nashville Predators. Stamkos, now with the Predators, is eager for fresh challenges while treasuring his past memories and achievements.

Steven Stamkos gets emotional remembering his time with Tampa Bay

Steven Stamkos played 16 seasons with the Lightning, who drafted him first overall in 2008. He scored 51 goals in his second season and became the franchise's top scorer with 60 goals two years later.

After 16 seasons and 11 as captain, Stamkos moved to the Nashville Predators. In a letter, he recalled his time in Tampa Bay and expressed gratitude for the memories, including back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.

"So how do you say goodbye to a place like that? To a city that welcomed you as an 18-year-old kid, to the only NHL team you’ve ever known, to a fanbase that’s been family? I don’t really know, to be honest," Stamkos wrote.

"I never thought I’d have to do one of these. It doesn’t quite feel real that I won’t be a Bolt this fall. But over the past few weeks, I’ve had this really deep sense of how lucky I was to be one for 16 years," Stamkos added.

Steven Stamkos scored a franchise-leading 555 goals and recorded 1,137 points.