What ever happened to former Winnipeg Jets Lee Stempniak, Antti Miettinen, and Mike Santorelli?

Hey guys, I’m bringing a new idea to the table, and it’s called “What ever happened to…?” Basically I am going to take about 2-4 players per article and write about what happened to their career after leaving the Winnipeg Jets organization.

To start off this series of articles, we will have a look at what happened to Stempniak, Miettinen, and Santorelli. We will see how they fared after their departure from the Jets.

Lee Stempniak

In 2014-15, the Jets were making a push to get into a playoff spot, and one of their moves to get going was to trade for Lee Stempniak. Stempniak was a veteran on the Rangers who wasn’t living up to his abilities with only nine goals and 18 points in 53 games. The Winnipeg Jets dished failed prospect, Carl Klingberg in exchange for Stempniak, who was looking for a way to make up his poor start to the season.

Stempniak picked it up with the Jets, potting six goals and ten points in only 18 games. He helped the Jets to their first playoffs ever in Winnipeg. However, they were swept in the first round by Anaheim. The Jets won that trade after Klingberg played only 13 games with the Rangers AHL affiliate and then moved on to the KHL. He hasn’t played a game of North American hockey since.

At the end of the season, for whatever reason, the Jets didn’t re-sign him (which they should have) and he went and signed with New Jersey. In New Jersey, he notched 41 points in only 63 games before getting dished off at the deadline to Boston. They didn’t even end up making the playoffs. He ended the 2015-16 season with 19 goals, and 51 points in all 82 games.

Stempniak moved once again to the Hurricanes in the offseason after accepting a contract that paid him $2.5 Million per season for 2 years. He cooled off a bit that season (2016-17) but still put up a solid 40 points.

This year, Stempniak has yet to do anything. He was sent down to the Charlotte Checkers on a conditioning stint. He played only one AHL game before sustaining a hip injury.

I think when his contract ended with the Jets, they should’ve re-upped. He’s a really good veteran to have to play a depth role on the team. He can also put up a bunch of points for a team too.

Antti Miettinen:

Miettinen was on the Winnipeg Jets in 2011-12, and 2012-13 (half lockout season). He was a player who’s prime was coming to an end, if not already ended and his days were numbered. After the lockout season, the Jets didn’t sign him, and there obviously wasn’t enough interest from other teams for him to retain an NHL job. He went over to the Swiss-A League for his first season away from Winnipeg. Miettinen played 34 games, and racked up seven goals, and 22 points.

He didn’t stay there for long, as he moved over to the DEL (Germany) the next year to play with the Berlin Polar Bears. He scored 11 goals and 29 points in 48 games. Miettinen had a pretty bad plus minus of -10.

Once again, Miettinen was on the move. This time to the SM Liiga (Finland) where he wasn’t able to hit the 20 point mark, with only seven goals and 11 assists in 34 games. That was Antti Miettinen’s final season as a pro hockey player.

Mike Santorelli:

Mike Santorelli was a Jet for a brief amount of time in 2013 (2012-13 season). He was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers. Santorelli failed to produce, and struggled in his ten games as a Jet, picking up only one assist. He had a pretty weak end to the season, however went on to sign a “last chance” deal with Vancouver. Santorelli proved that he could be a solid depth player (with 28 points) enough that Toronto was willing to award him with a one year, $1.5 Million deal. That deal payed off for Toronto who cashed him in before the deadline with Cody Franson to Nashville. In exchange, they got veteran Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic, and a first round pick in 2015, who turned out to be Travis Konecny.

After heading to Nashville, Santorelli was a bit of a bust there. He only put up one goal, and 3 assists in 22 games. He wasn’t re-signed, and was on to continue his NHL journey elsewhere.

Yet again, Santorelli was awarded a one year deal, this time with Anaheim. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to put up ten goals or even 20 points. He had nine goals and nine assists in 70 games for a total of 18 points. He was not given another NHL contract, and was off to play the final six games of his career over in Europe before retiring.