I’m gonna get my flame suit ready. I don’t think Santini should be a regular at all. I feel like both him and Mueller are redundant. I know they play different sides, but I feel like they do the same thing and I’d rather ice more mobile guys than two of them. I feel like Mueller has more upside so I think I’d prefer him. Santini did play competent against soft competition in 2016-2017. So it’s not like he’s totally useless. I just don’t think management should balk at upgrading the D this offseason just so that both Mueller and Santini have a spot on the roster.
You better run, as fast as you can to Bogota. And not the boro in Bergen County, the one in Colombia. And that's only if you can't make it down to Antarctica first.
Honestly though, it's a numbers game unless somebody gets moved out, I see Santini as the odd man out. Even if somebody does get moved out and we upgrade, someone else might need to also get moved out/injured for him to become a regular again. And that's already assuming that we've said arrivederci to John Moore and that he's not coming back.
This has been my prediction for a while and it still stands, I think Santini starts the season on the NHL roster, but as the 7th/8th defenseman, depending on how many defenseman we carry to start the season. I think a buyout for Lovejoy is a possibility, but I think if he is bought out then it might not be until the second buyout window, which is usually in early August? Let's see what happens. We might very well also see another defenseman traded if we bring in another one as an upgrade via trade. So basically that opens up another spot.