- The Stars signed Sam Steel to a four-year extension worth $14.8 million
- The deal carries a $3.7 million cap hit and kicks in for 2027-28
- Read below for Jim Nill’s take and the role Steel fills in Dallas
Sam Steel is staying in Dallas for a while.
The Stars signed the 28-year-old forward to a four-year extension Monday worth $14.8 million, an average of $3.7 million a year. It starts in 2027-28, so Steel plays out the final season of his current deal first and never gets near the open market.
He would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027.
Take a look at how the Stars announced it:
General manager Jim Nill went straight to the penalty kill when he explained the extension.
“We couldn’t be happier to extend Sam. His consistency during his time with our team, especially on the penalty kill, plus his versatility has made him a valuable asset to our organization, and we’re happy to be locking him up for the next four seasons.”
Steel had the best year of his career in 2025-26. He put up 12 goals, 21 assists and 33 points in 73 games, all personal bests, then went without a point in six playoff games.
Our look at the deal:
The shorthanded work is what really pays him. Since arriving in 2023 he leads every Stars forward in penalty-kill ice time at a little over 450 minutes, about 170 more than Radek Faksa.
Add it up and Steel has 27 goals and 82 points in 229 games as a Star, ninth among the team’s forwards over that span. He also scored 12 of his 14 career playoff points during the two runs to the Western Conference Final.
The Alberta native went 30th overall to Anaheim in 2016 and spent four seasons with the Ducks, then a year in Minnesota, before landing in Dallas as a free agent. Short-term money followed him everywhere, four straight one-year deals across three teams.
This one is the longest and the richest of his career. His NHL totals now sit at 175 points in 491 games.
Four years for a penalty-killing depth forward barely registers in September. Dallas is betting it shows up in May.
