Sam Steel to sign a one-year deal with Dallas Stars

According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, Sam Steel is expected to sign a one-year deal to remain with the Dallas Stars on a deal worth $1.2 million.

Steel was not tendered a qualifying offer with the Ducks on Sunday, but his new deal is a step up from his $850,000 cap hit from 2023-24.

Steel had nine goals and 24 points in 77 games in his first season with the Stars. It was a four-point drop from his previous best of 28 points set in 2022-23 with Minnesota, but it was still a solid season for the depth forward. Of all the RFAs not tendered a qualifying offer this year, no player had more points than Steel this season, and he did it at just over league minimum.

Drafted 30th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2016, Steel has struggled to be a notable scoring figure in the NHL. He had 50 goals and 131 points with the WHL’s Regina Pats in 2016-17, two years before making his NHL debut. He made an immediate impact in 2018-19, registering 11 points in 22 games to go along with 20 goals and 41 points in the AHL.

Steel had some growing pains in 2019-20, registering just 22 points in 65 games. After two more difficult seasons, the Ducks elected to let him go to the open market heading into the 2022-23 season – which did mark his best output to date.

The Stars have just under $20 million in projected cap space this summer. They offered Thomas Harley a qualifying offer, so it’ll be interesting to see how much he makes after a breakout season. The team only has 12 other players signed to deals beyond Steel, but are expected to give youngsters such as Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven big roles with the club next year.