New Jersey Devils: What To Do With Steve Santini

The New Jersey Devils have a ton of decisions to make this offseason. One that’s fallen under the radar is what they should do with defenseman Steve Santini.

Steve Santini is a name many New Jersey Devils fans forgot over the season. One can’t really blame them. After coming out of training camp with a solidified spot on the roster, he’s been on the Binghamton Devils since January 7th.

That makes my early season prediction that Santini was the key to the Devils season look all that more stupid. That’s right, I’m calling myself out for that stupid prediction. Obviously, the addition of Sami Vatanen helped this defense much more than Santini can at his best, but at one point it looked like Santini could carry this unit to league average. After last season, that would be a win.

Unfortunately, after a good start, Santini fell off the face of the Earth.

That’s where we stand right now. Santini is a 23 year old with a ton of upside, but also an inconceivable amount of downside. Some of that downside came out in his stats.

Taking a look at the easiest advanced stat. Santini was last on the Devils in Corsi For Percentage. His 38.4% was below Jimmy Hayes (43.6%), Michael Grabner (44.3%) and Mirco Mueller (47.1%). His relative Corsi For at even strength is even worse. He sits at -13. Nobody else of the team even has half that. That shows the stats are not in Santini’s corner.

He did lead the team with 72.5% defensive zone starts. When he was on the ice, head coach John Hynes did not put him in a position of strength. One might expect that from Santini, who’s a defensive defenseman, but that can do a number on a rookie’s confidence.

So here’s where things get interesting, Santini’s contract ended this season. He becomes a restricted free agent. As with all other free agents, I’m sure he wants a raise. He’s actually making $925,000 on the NHL roster.

So the million dollar question is, how much does he deserve?

Obviously, with Santini being a restricted free agent, the Devils have time to make their decision. Even the best players in the league don’t get offered contracts while restricted. It’s a very rare occurrence. A rival GM won’t waste the opportunity on Steve Santini.

I’m thinking the Devils will look at a two-year deal with Santini. Again, he has a ton of upside. If for nothing else, the Devils can use him as a trade chip. Teams are willing to take chances on young defensemen.

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Another thing throwing off this situation is Santini can no longer freely go between the AHL and NHL. According to NHL waiver rules, once a player has been signed for three years after his 20 year old season, then he’s no longer waiver exempt. So if the Devils want to start the season with Santini on the NHL roster, they can’t move him to the minors without taking a chance they can lose him.

Here’s what I propose: give Santini a two-way contract that pays him an even $1 million at the NHL level, then pays him $150,000 at the AHL level. That gives him the smallest possible raise in the big leagues, but gives him a major raise if he’s playing in the minors. Santini doesn’t have much leverage, but it’s more of a good will gesture to give him that AHL raise. Then, he can start the year in Binghamton.

Two years gives Santini the chance to play with the Devils until he’s 25. If he can’t figure it out by then, it will probably never happen.

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