Confirmed Signing with Link: [NJD] Devils re-sign Santini (3 yrs, $1.4M AAV)

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils re-sign defenseman Steven Santini to a three-year contract

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[Nico Hischier]

Yay

 

[olli]

Devils re-sign defenseman Steven Santini to a three-year contract

Yay

How good is he now and what is his ceiling?

 

[New Jersey Devils]

How good is he now and what is his ceiling?

Last season he was a victim of being waiver exempt and was thrown into bad matchups. Still firmly believe he can develop into a Top-4 shutdown defenseman but good for 15-20 points each year. Has great leadership and work ethic as well. Think Brooks Orpik-lite.

 

[DEVILS130]

Excited that it's a one-way contract

 

[NYR713]

I like Santini. I hope he gets a full shot this season. Definitely has solid shut-down potential even if he won't be a big offensive producer. Nice bridge for NJ for 3 years and then still RFA.

 

[ViktorBaeArvidsson]

Ima getta a’ah martini to celebrate dah signing of’ah Santini.

 

[Its a Trap]

How good is he now and what is his ceiling?

For some reason (money/waivers) he was played less then the right honorable Reverend Lovejoy and then sent down after the trade for Vatanen. He’s better then Lovejoy but because you apparently can’t bench a guy that sucks because he makes 3 million a year, he got the short end of the stick.

 

[TGWL]

Excited that it's a one-way contract

Why? That just means he is paid the same regardless where he plays. Considering how low against the average is, it wouldn't stop them from trying to send him down.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

For some reason (money/waivers) he was played less then the right honorable Reverend Lovejoy and then sent down after the trade for Vatanen. He’s better then Lovejoy but because you apparently can’t bench a guy that sucks because he makes 3 million a year, he got the short end of the stick.

Santini was sent down because he was waiver exempt. Shero made that crystal clear. And Santini wasn't better than Lovejoy last year, or at least by not enough of a margin to send Lovejoy down to Bingo. Basically, the Devils would not have been any better or worse last season with or without Lovejoy. In the same way, I imagine that the Caps would have still won the Cup if Lovejoy was their 6th/7th defenseman.

 

[tony d]

Good keep for the Devils. Santini can be a very good bottom pairing defenseman for them.

 

[HBK27]

Excited that it's a one-way contract

He wasn't waivers exempt this upcoming season anyway and there was zero chance of him going unclaimed on waivers, so he was making the roster this upcoming season no matter what.

 

[HBK27]

For some reason (money/waivers) he was played less then the right honorable Reverend Lovejoy and then sent down after the trade for Vatanen. He’s better then Lovejoy but because you apparently can’t bench a guy that sucks because he makes 3 million a year, he got the short end of the stick.

It was close, but it could be argued that Lovejoy played better than Santini as the season went on. The Reverend had a tough first season with NJ, but he was being asked to do too much - they cut his minutes down from 20:46 to 16:35 last season and he responded well. He was still just 33 last year and he's a seasoned vet with nearly 500 regular season and 63 playoff games under his belt. That Lovejoy played better than a 22-year old Santini last season isn't a poor reflection on Santini either. It's tough to break into the league as a young defenseman.

Lovejoy was also a great locker room guy and brought playoff experience to a young team sniffing the playoffs for the first time in years. They weren't going to send him to the minors (especially considering NJ's AHL defensive depth was lacking) and Santini could also pass through without clearing waivers and gain more pro experience & playing time, as Santini still only has 122 pro games played.

Lovejoy started the season on the bench in the season opener while Santini logged 20:53 of ice time. There's no conspiracy theory with the coaching staff playing Lovejoy over Santini - especially for a team battling down to the wire for a playoff spot. If Santini was really a significant upgrade over Lovejoy they would've played him down the stretch, but Santini had some struggles.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Why? That just means he is paid the same regardless where he plays. Considering how low against the average is, it wouldn't stop them from trying to send him down.

that is true, but he is no longer waiver exempt so he probably isn't going to get sent down anyways

 

[pheasant]

Does this signing mean it's more likely that Lovejoy gets waived? Because I would like the Leafs to claim him, if he is.

Santini is younger, cheaper, and now controlled for longer.

 

[HBK27]

Does this signing mean it's more likely that Lovejoy gets waived? Because I would like the Leafs to claim him, if he is.

Santini is younger, cheaper, and now controlled for longer.

No. There was always the expectation that Santini would sign a contract as an RFA. This changes nothing for Lovejoy. Only way he's out is if someone like Yakovlev or Smith comes out of nowhere to have an amazing camp and make the roster and even then the Devils likely still start the season with 8D before waiving Lovejoy. He's a Stanley Cup winning vet that's still just 34 that at the very least could be a healthy scratch and good locker room presence and depth on a team that's lacking in defensive depth. I just don't see NJ waiving him this season.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Santini was sent down because he was waiver exempt. Shero made that crystal clear. And Santini wasn't better than Lovejoy last year, or at least by not enough of a margin to send Lovejoy down to Bingo. Basically, the Devils would not have been any better or worse last season with or without Lovejoy. In the same way, I imagine that the Caps would have still won the Cup if Lovejoy was their 6th/7th defenseman.

I think keeping a vet on your roster (for fear of losing him) and shipping the waiver exempt guy down certainly doesn't comment on who was 'better'. Santini played first pairing minutes with Greene for his entire time up - he didn't exactly thrive, but as a 22-yr old, I think that's to be expected.

Our pipedream was Scott Stevens lite, but the reality is that he has the skating, physicality and head to be a top-4 shutdown guy and I think his passing/vision is, while nothing to write home about and weak compared to Butcher/Severson certainly underrated.

As a fan of defensive-defensemen who can play in any situation and help goalies keep the puck out of the net - I like him better than Severson and Butcher and hope he reaches his potential of being that solid guy that anchors a defense.

Oh, I'll warn that this post will likely spark the schismatic Severson-Santini Corsi debate.

 

[Linda Bacon]

I have high expectations from Santini, great deal