The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has signed defenseman Santeri Hatakka to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $125,000 ($150,000 guaranteed) at the American Hockey League (AHL) level. The announcement was made by President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald and Devils’ Assistant General Manager/Utica Comets General Manager Dan MacKinnon.
Hatakka, 23, made his Devils debut on January 22, 2024, against Vegas and played in 12 games with New Jersey last season. The 6’1”, 190lbs. defenseman earned his first point with New Jersey on Jan. 27, 2024, at Tampa Bay and totaled two assists in the NHL this past season. He averaged 14:39 time on ice and recorded a plus-5 plus/minus mark.
The lefthanded shot played in 48 contests with New Jersey’s AHL affiliate in Utica last season and recorded 20 points (5g-15a). Hatakka’s goal and assist totals, along with his 32 penalty minutes (PIM) all marked single-season career-highs at the AHL level. His five goals led all Utica defensemen in 2023-24.
Born on Jan. 15, 2001, Hatakka was acquired by New Jersey on Feb. 26, 2023, in the Timo Meier trade with San Jose in exchange for Fabian Zetterlund, Andreas Johnsson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotiuk, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (#26 overall- Quentin Musty), a conditional second-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-round pick in 2024. The San Jose Sharks drafted Hatakka in the sixth round, 184th overall, at the 2019 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with the club on Oct. 30, 2022, against Winnipeg. To date, Hatakka has played in 21 career NHL games (0g-4a) as well as 97 AHL games (8g-27a) since 2021-22.
A native of Riihimaki, Finland, Hatakka represented Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) U18 World Junior Championship (WJC) in 2019 and U20 WJC in 2020 and 2021. Finland named Hatakka an alternate captain at the 2021 WJC, where the team won a bronze medal.
