The Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday announced that they signed defenseman Steven Santini to a two-year, two-way contract extension.
Santini played in 58 games with the Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate Syracuse Crunch in 2024-25. He recorded six goals, 11 assists, 17 points, was +10 on the season, and had 20 penalty minutes incurred on him.
Santini, the 6’3” righty shooter, played in his first NHL game in nearly two years on December 12th for the Lightning against the Calgary Flames. He had one shot on goal and two blocked shots in 11+ minutes of time on the ice. The Lightning went on to defeat Calgary 8-3 in that game.
Prior to the Lightning’s December 12th matchup against the Flames, Santini had not played in a game since 2023 with the St. Louis Blues.
Originally a 2nd round draft pick at pick No. 12 overall by the New Jersey Devils, he has also spent time with the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. Over the full course of his career he has played 17 minutes, 10 seconds on the ice through 124 games, recording five goals, 18 assists, 23 points, and is -8 in his career. He has had 57 penalty minutes incurred.
The Lightning originally signed Santini prior to this season to a one-year contract after he had spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Ontario Reign in the AHL.
The 30-year old Bronxville, New York native isn’t expected to be fighting for a roster spot out of training camp, but should be a quick call-up for Tampa Bay if they have any injuries and need it. It is expected that Santini will return to Syracuse to start the 2025-26 season and potentially be called up from there.
Santini’s two-year, two-way contract extension is worth $775,000 annually, beginning at the start of the 2025-2026 season.