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New Jersey Devils: Steve Santini’s Future With The Team

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 05: Steven Santini #16 of the New Jersey Devils looks on during warm ups before the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 05, 2019 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 05: Steven Santini #16 of the New Jersey Devils looks on during warm ups before the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 05, 2019 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils are showcasing some of their young talent with the entire team out with injuries. One player that really needs the time on the ice is Steve Santini, who still doesn’t have a role in the future.

Steve Santini was an interesting prospect coming up through the New Jersey Devils ranks. He was taken with the 42nd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He spent three seasons at Boston College, represented the United States at the World Junior Classic, and even wore the “A” in his final year.

He signed his entry-level contract at the same time as Miles Wood, joining the team at the end of the 2016 season. He was a 21-year-old defenseman on a team that was desperate for youth. He looked like he could eventually be a very good, old-school defenseman.

When looking at the Devils roster today, it looks like a Santini type is exactly what they could use. They have players like Damon Severson, Sami Vatanen, Will Butcher, and soon Ty Smith that both have a really good offensive side to their game. Then there’s Andy Greene, who’s not inept offensively. On paper, Santini should be the perfect compliment to this current crop of defensemen.

Yet, he’s here with a very questionable future on this team. Santini did spend most of his season with the New Jersey Devils this season, only spending three games in Binghamton. He’s had an interesting season. His first game into the lineup ended very early after taking a puck to the face that broke his jaw.

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Santini didn’t return to the lineup until late December when the season was mostly lost already. He did his job on paper. He’s… fine. At least on paper, all his numbers look fine. However, when looking deeper a major problem exists. Santini is doing very little to stop chances against his team and doing even less to start chances for his own team.

His Corsi numbers are about as bad as they possibly can be. Yes, it’s hard to judge a player for his Corsi numbers when he’s playing with forward lines that consist of AHL players, but his Corsi numbers have always been bad. This season, he has 39.5 Corsi For Percentage.

For those unfamiliar with Corsi and advanced stats, knowing that Will Butcher, who’s been worse than last season, has a 50.3 CF% and Andy Greene has a 45.0 CF%, it shows the dip we see to Santini.

Santini’s future with the Devils remains in question. Some say he’s only signed at this point to be opened up for the Seattle expansion draft, but at this point he’s going to become a free agent before that happens. He’s still signed for two more seasons, and honestly one might argue with one defenseman signing there won’t be room for him on this team. His future with this team is very much in doubt.

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