Panthers resign C Mike Santorelli for 2 years
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 6, 2011 3:33 PM EDT
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PrintAccording to multiple sources, Florida Panthers center Mike Santorelli has been resigned to a two year deal, salary/cap hit numbers have yet to be released. Santorelli was a restricted free agent and was rumored to possibly go into arbitration after negotiations seemed to come to a standstill. Santorelli had a breakout season last year after being traded from the Nashville Predators for a 4th round pick by scoring 20 goals and picking up 21 assists. Santorelli finished second on the team in points behind Stephen Weiss' 49.
More on Santorelli after the jump.
Assistant GM Mike Santos has his fingerprints all over the Santorelli acquisition, Santos observed Santorelli during his time in Nashville and was given the opportunity to bring him along to Florida via a low risk-high reward trade. Santorelli only played 32 games with Nashville over two seasons but never seemed to transition his AHL success in Milwaukee to the NHL level. Given the opportunity in Florida, Santorelli climbed through the depth charts to become a 2nd line center.
The biggest knock on Santorelli was his tendency to get into streaks, but honestly, so did every other player on last seasons roster. Santorelli is a solid center good in the faceoff circle and in front of the net, as well as on the powerplay. He will undoubtedly have to fight for his spot as a center with new acquisition Marcel Goc, teammate Jack Skille and possibly Shawn Matthias if he is resigned. With good players around him, Santorelli can undoubtedly improve his game, especially with the stability of a two year contract.
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Nothing yet, check back in 10-15 maybe
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 6, 2011 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
good move
Santorelli just needs to become a little more consistent and clean up his plus/minus.
Wouldn’t be shocked (maybe just surprised) if they say goodbye to Matthias. Lots of quality vets now and kids with much more talent waiting in the wings.
great news and honestly i dont care if they resign matthias because it will give some room for some of our younger guys like huberdeau or howden to compete for a spot in the lineup
Howden maybe, but Huberdeau should probably keep developing
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 6, 2011 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions
if Huberdeau
can get his weight up up he can make this team and contribute. much like Timmy Hardaway he got skillz
huberdeau, if he gains some weight, could be an immediate impact player in the NHL. hes scouted as being NHL ready, an exciting prospect. i love that looking at our roster people are going to have to truly fight for a spot.
by stopdropandbreathe on Jul 6, 2011 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m totally open to letting him compete for the spot, and if he beats out NHLers I’d be happy to let him have it. Either Howden or Huberdeau might have a Seguin role this season.
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 6, 2011 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
pre-knowing
what do you think a reasonable contract for santorelli is? im guessing its 4.5 mil over 2 seasons, 2 and 2.5 or 2.25/2.25.
by stopdropandbreathe on Jul 6, 2011 4:20 PM EDT reply actions
That seems reasonable…but it is Tallon.
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 6, 2011 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions
A guess: $1.3M per.
Litter Box Cats - Your tarp-free Florida Panthers Colossus
by Donny Rivette on Jul 6, 2011 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Yep, there’s a new post about it on the front page. I really like the hire.
Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215
I’m glad he wasn’t retained by the Jets. Wouldn’t wish that upon anyone.
Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215
by Sdiaz6215 on Jul 6, 2011 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
why the hate for the Jets? I feel bad for the people in Atlanta who actually supported the Thrashers but as a guy who grew up a WHA fan I’m glad Winnipeg is back in the bigs.
I’ll just say this: I’m not a fan of how they’ve handled their business so far.
Steve Diaz
Twitter - @sdiaz6215
by Sdiaz6215 on Jul 6, 2011 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Don’t expect them to last long up there once again if they continue to handle it that way either.
by Rob PKane McMahon on Jul 6, 2011 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions
hard not to sell out every game when they reserved 13k season ticket sales and because of the lack of a team there almost instantly sold out.. as well as some company from what i remember hearing buying up like 6000 of them themselves… the arena only seats about 15000 which is what our old miami arena did..
then again we could cut out arena down to about 12000 seats and say we sell out every game too, doesnt mean attendence is high.
by Rob PKane McMahon on Jul 6, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Well Bettman alluded to the Whatevers having to sell out every game (at a max non-tarped capacity) in order for the franchise to be financially secure.
Even the Wild, who started off hockey starved, eventually saw an end to their sellout streak .
i think
selling out 13K season tickets for the next five years and having a waiting list of 8K means the team is financially secure. Winnipeg will not lose it’s team again. They know now if they don’t show up what could happen, they have learned their lesson They will be just like the fans in Edmonton who come out for every game even when the team totally sucks. The small Canadian markets know they need to have high attendance to keep their teams.
Not sure about the jabs regarding how the ownership is handling their business there. True North is widely regarded as a first class organization in the hockey world. Just because Ramsay is crying because he wasn’t contacted in a time frame that pleased him doesn’t mean jack spit to me. He is saying he wasn’t contacted in over a month but once the team was purchased a new coach was hired three weeks later and Ramsay was interviewed in the process so either he has his dates screwed up or this is a case of sour grapes. The ownership had more pressing issues after the purchase to worry about other than calling Ramsay.
Corporate sponsers/advertisers are important too, just look at the Panthers. Other than that, agreed.
by Chris S Roberts on Jul 7, 2011 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions
CapGeek still no-go on the coin as of 7:30 ET.
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by Donny Rivette on Jul 6, 2011 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions
$1.6 million
"We don't need the designated goon. Those fights aren't even fun to watch." -Mike Milbury
Litter Box Cats - Your Panthers Colossus.
Really happy about this. Great to see Santorelli retained, and now I’m off to go play roller hockey, outdoors, in Boca, in July.
Southwest Regional between Glades and Yamato? I think my friend’s lil bro, tho not so lil now, plays there.
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