Sam Steel is staying in Dallas for the long haul.
The Stars announced Monday that they have signed the forward to a four-year contract extension. The deal begins in the 2027-28 season and carries a $3.7 million average annual value through 2030-31.
For Dallas, the timing makes the move especially interesting. Steel is entering the final season of his current two-year contract, which comes with a $2.1 million cap hit, and the expectation is that the salary cap will keep climbing over the next several years. That could make this a tidy piece of business for the Stars if Steel continues producing the way he did last season.
And last season was his best offensive showing yet. Steel set career highs with 12 goals, 21 assists and 33 points in 73 games.
He also finished at plus-3 and logged 16:04 of ice time per night, both career bests as well. Even beyond that breakout, he has now reached at least 20 points in each of the last five seasons.
Steel’s value to Dallas has never been limited to the scoresheet. He’s the kind of depth piece who matters because he can handle important minutes and fit into different spots in the lineup. That versatility helped the Stars finish second in the Central Division, and he was in the lineup for all six games of their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, though he did not record a point in the loss.
The 2026-27 season will be Steel’s eighth as a full-time NHL player. He has spent the past three seasons in Dallas, after skating one year with Minnesota in 2022-23. Before that, the Anaheim Ducks made him a first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, and he also played parts of three seasons with Anaheim.
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