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Steven Santini

#16 · Defence · Tampa Bay Lightning

Born Mar 7, 1995 in Bronxville, New York, USA (age 31) · 6'3", 215 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 42nd overall in 2013 by NJD (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2018-19. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Brandon Manning EDM · 4 P in 39 GP Thomas Hickey NYI · 4 P in 40 GP Ilya Lyubushkin ARI · 4 P in 41 GP Sami Niku WPG · 4 P in 30 GP Julius Honka DAL · 4 P in 29 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02468102015-16: 0 points015-162016-17: 7 points716-172017-18: 10 points1017-182018-19: 4 points418-192019-20: 0 points019-202020-21: 1 points120-212022-23: 1 points122-232024-25: 0 points024-252025-26: 1 points125-26

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2015-16 NJD 1 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0.00 $925K
2016-17 NJD 38 2 5 7 -6 14 46 83 0.18 $925K
2017-18 NJD 36 2 8 10 0 21 56 113 0.28 $925K
2018-19 NJD 39 1 3 4 -6 16 41 80 0.10 $1.417M
2019-20 NSH 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 0.00 $1.417M
2020-21 STL 3 0 1 1 1 0 9 12 0.33 $700K
2022-23 STL 4 0 1 1 0 2 5 6 0.25 $750K
2024-25 TBL 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 $775K
2025-26 TBL 12 0 1 1 1 2 4 9 0.08 $775K
9 seasons Career 136 5 19 24 -7 59 164 307 0.18

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2020-21 STL 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 13 0.00
2021-22 STL 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00
2 seasons Playoffs 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 13 0.00

2018-19 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
39 1 3 4 -6 16 41 80 0.10 2.4 16:39

Contract

$1.417MCap hitends in 2021
$354KCap dollars per point4 points in 39 games
$177.196MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.0 goals above replacement
$630KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$786KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 696 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the New Jersey Devils on Aug 14, 2018, as a new contract: 3 years and $4.25M, beginning in 2018-19. It was signed to run through 2020-21, but the Nashville Predators bought it out on Oct 7, 2020, after 2019-20. His next contract is already signed: a new contract (two-way) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, 1 year and $775K at $775K a season, beginning in 2024-25.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2018-19 $1.417M $1.1M $0 $1.1M
2019-20 $1.417M $1.5M $0 $1.5M

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2025-26 to 2026-27 $775K
Tampa Bay Lightning New contract (two-way) not begun 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $775K $775K
Jul 1, 2023 Los Angeles Kings New contract 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $800K $800K
May 4, 2021 St. Louis Blues Extension 2021-22 to 2022-23 2 $1.5M $750K
Oct 10, 2020 St. Louis Blues New contract 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $700K $700K
Aug 14, 2018 New Jersey Devils New contract bought out by the Nashville Predators, Oct 7, 2020 2018-19 to 2019-20 3 $4.25M $1.417M
Apr 8, 2016 New Jersey Devils Entry-level 2015-16 to 2017-18 3 $2.775M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2018-19 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2018-19 analytics

Rating

+0.0Goals above replacement540th of 699 skaters, 176th of 244 defencemen
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 244 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-2.7 20th percentileEven-strength defence+0.9 64th percentilePower play-0.1 52nd percentilePenalty kill+0.3 75th percentilePenalties-0.6 51st percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-2-10122015-162017-182019-202022-232025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

41.7Corsi for %432 attempts for, 604 against
-4.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.7Expected goals for %19.9 expected for, 24.6 against
-2.4xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
42.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
45.0Goals for %18 for, 22 against
100.7PDO7.6% shooting + 93.1% saves
74Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 591 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Will Butcher · Steven Santini31162:5248.944.96-4
Sami Vatanen · Steven Santini12124:1842.151.66-6
Steven Santini · Egor Yakovlev11118:1836.841.63-4
Steven Santini · Mirco Mueller1553:5036.132.01-1

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.7Expected goalsfrom 60 unblocked attempts
-0.7Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.16 expected goals per 60 minutes27th
Shot quality 2.8% chance per attempt38th
Finishing -0.7 goals above expected39thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 244 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.5Game 20Expected 1.7Goals 1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 6, 2019 @ FLA W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 18:16
Apr 4, 2019 @ CAR L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 5 18:42
Apr 1, 2019 vs NYR W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 18:24
Mar 30, 2019 vs STL L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 2 1 4 17:16
Mar 29, 2019 @ DET L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 18:48
Mar 25, 2019 vs BUF W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 18:48
Mar 23, 2019 vs ARI W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18:07
Mar 21, 2019 vs BOS L 1-5 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 19:30
Mar 19, 2019 vs WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 20:03
Mar 17, 2019 @ COL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 18:55
Mar 15, 2019 @ VAN W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 17:31
Mar 13, 2019 @ EDM W 6-3 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 18:35
Mar 12, 2019 @ CGY L 4-9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:57
Mar 9, 2019 @ NYR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 19:39
Mar 8, 2019 @ WSH L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:38
Mar 5, 2019 vs CBJ L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:33
Mar 2, 2019 @ BOS L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 18:40
Feb 25, 2019 vs MTL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 12:58
Feb 23, 2019 @ NYR L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18:29
Feb 21, 2019 vs OTT W 4-0 1 0 1 3 0 1 2 18:01
Feb 14, 2019 @ CHI L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 15:47
Feb 5, 2019 vs LAK L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 14:36
Feb 2, 2019 @ MTL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 16:56
Jan 31, 2019 vs NYR L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:59
Jan 28, 2019 @ PIT W 6-3 0 1 1 0 2 1 6 16:39
Jan 19, 2019 vs ANA L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 14:46
Jan 17, 2019 @ NYI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 16:08
Jan 10, 2019 vs TOR L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 15:32
Jan 8, 2019 @ BUF L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 17:10
Jan 6, 2019 @ VGK L 2-3 0 0 0 -2 0 4 2 18:14
Jan 4, 2019 @ ARI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 15:03
Jan 2, 2019 @ DAL L 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 16:52
Dec 31, 2018 vs VAN W 4-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 18:05
Dec 29, 2018 vs CAR W 2-0 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 14:16
Dec 27, 2018 @ BOS W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:57
Dec 23, 2018 vs CBJ L 0-3 0 0 0 -2 0 4 1 14:52
Dec 21, 2018 vs OTT W 5-2 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 14:56
Dec 20, 2018 @ CBJ L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 12:25
Oct 20, 2018 @ PHI L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 02:33