FRISCO, Texas — Sam Steel signed a four-year, $14.8 million contract extension with the Dallas Stars on Monday. The deal has an average annual value of $3.7 million. It begins with the 2027-28 season and runs through 2030-31.
Steel, 28, is in the final season of a two-year, $4.2 million extension he signed with Dallas on Feb. 14, 2025. Without Monday’s deal, he could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027.
In his first season with Dallas in 2023-24, Steel set career highs with 2 shorthanded goals and 3 shorthanded points. The following season, he averaged 1:58 of shorthanded ice time per game, the most among Stars forwards, and that average rose to 2:47 in the playoffs. In the team’s announcement Monday, Stars general manager Jim Nill said Steel’s consistency had shown most on the penalty kill.
“We couldn’t be happier to extend Sam,” Nill said. “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.”
Sam Steel Set NHL Career Highs In Third Season With Dallas Stars
Last season, Steel had 12 goals, 21 assists, and 33 points in 73 regular-season games. All three totals were NHL career highs. His previous highs of 10 goals, 18 assists, and 28 points came in 65 games with the Minnesota Wild in 2022-23.
In his first two seasons with the Stars, Steel had 24 points in 77 games in 2023-24 and 25 points in 79 games in 2024-25. His average ice time last season was 16:04. He also had 79 hits, 29 blocked shots, and 24 penalty minutes.
A hip injury kept Steel out of the lineup after he left a March 26 game. He returned for the regular-season finale against the Buffalo Sabres on April 15.
Minnesota eliminated Dallas in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Steel played in all six games and did not record a point.
Sam Steel Signed Three Short-Term Deals With Dallas Stars Before Monday’s Extension
The Anaheim Ducks selected Steel with the 30th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. He played four seasons in Anaheim, from 2018-19 through 2021-22. The Ducks did not give him a qualifying offer in 2022, and he signed a one-year contract with Minnesota on Aug. 30, 2022.
The Wild did not give Steel a qualifying offer in June 2023. Dallas signed him to a one-year, $850,000 contract on July 1, 2023. After that season, the Stars did not give him a qualifying offer either, and he re-signed on a one-year, $1.2 million contract on June 30, 2024. The Feb. 14, 2025, extension carried a $2.1 million average annual value.
In 491 regular-season games with the Ducks, Wild, and Stars, Steel has 61 goals, 114 assists, and 175 points. He has added 3 goals, 11 assists, and 14 points in 48 playoff games.
Training camp opened Sept. 17 at Comerica Center in Frisco with 57 players on the roster. The Stars host the St. Louis Blues in a preseason game Monday at American Airlines Center, with puck drop at 7 p.m. CT.
Dallas opens its 84-game regular season at home against St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 2, with puck drop at 8 p.m. CT on TNT.
