In the present work we revisit the Salerno model as a prototypical system that interpolates between a well-known integrable system (the Ablowitz-Ladik lattice) and an experimentally tractable, nonintegrable one (the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger model). The question we ask is, for "generic" initial data, how close are the integrable to the nonintegrable models? Our more precise formulation of this question is, How well is the constancy of formerly conserved quantities preserved in the nonintegrable case? Upon examining this, we find that even slight deviations from integrability can be sensitively felt by measuring these formerly conserved quantities in the case of the Salerno model. However, given that the knowledge of these quantities requires a deep physical and mathematical analysis of the system, we seek a more "generic" diagnostic towards a manifestation of integrability breaking. We argue, based on our Salerno model computations, that the full spectrum of Lyapunov exponents could be a sensitive diagnostic to that effect.