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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 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jake Muzzin TOR · 1 P in 4 GP Cole McWard VAN · 1 P in 5 GP Drew Helleson ANA · 1 P in 3 GP Jake Livingstone NSH · 1 P in 5 GP Tucker Poolman VAN · 1 P in 3 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

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
4 0 1 1 0 2 5 6 0.25 0.0 12:31

Contract

$750KCap hitends in 2023, then UFA
$750KCap dollars per point1 points in 4 games
$560KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.3 goals above replacement

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.

The contract

Signed by the St. Louis Blues on May 4, 2021, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $1.5M, beginning in 2021-22. It runs through 2022-23, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent. 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
2021-22 $750K $750K $0 $750K
2022-23 $750K $750K $0 $750K

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 2022-23 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.

2022-23 analytics

Rating

+1.3Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+1.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+0.2Even-strength defence+0.7Power play0.0Penalty kill0.0Penalties+0.3

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. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked. 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

44.2Corsi for %42 attempts for, 53 against
+4.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
60.2Expected goals for %1.9 expected for, 1.3 against
+21.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.5Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
50.0Goals for %2 for, 2 against
98.0PDO9.1% shooting + 88.9% saves
9Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Steven Santini · Calle Rosen425:1339.764.42-1
Steven Santini · Niko Mikkola45:1850.065.00-1
Steven Santini · Tyler Tucker34:5966.792.00-0
Colton Parayko · Steven Santini34:5450.023.20-0

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.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.1Expected goalsfrom 8 unblocked attempts
-0.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.12 expected goals per 60 minutes14th
Shot quality 1.2% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -0.1 goals above expected50thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 233 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.1Goals 0

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
Jan 12, 2023 vs CGY L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:19
Jan 10, 2023 vs CGY W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 12:25
Jan 8, 2023 @ MIN W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 09:25
Jan 7, 2023 @ MTL L 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 14:53