2025 Report Card: Sam, journeyman of Steel

Everyone's favorite fourth liner. Don't be surprised if Glen Gulutzan sees something different.

One sentence summary

Bottom six skill, top six will.

A few good stats

• Cap: $2.1 million (Year 1 of 2)

• GP: 79

• Goals: 6

• Assists: 18

• Points: 22

• Postseason: 18 GP — 1 goal, 6 assists — 7 points

• xSPAR: 1.3 extra points in the standings

Steel plays the ideal bottom six role to perfection. He’s disciplined. He draws penalties. He can play both sides of special teams (technically). He can play as high or low in the lineup as need be. Dallas doesn’t give up much when he’s on the ice, and the only knock against him is the same knock against every bottom sixer: not much offense. Of course, if he did that, he would be the perfect hockey player. So we settle for him being the perfect bottom sixer. And this has been true of the last three seasons as well.

Is there anything else to his game? And more importantly, will there be more in the Glen Gulutzan era?

Thematically appropriate highlight

This feels appropriate. Even in no minutes, Steel was able to make an impact. Sure, Tyler Seguin sort of steals it from Steel, but that’s what makes it so fitting: Steel is perfect support.

Grade: A (strong) B+

(This grade might seem harsh, but I struggle with the full A for reasons I can’t really articulate) There’s always that player — usually on good teams. Someone who sometimes overdelivers, but never underdelivers. That’s the Sam Steel Experience.

Being good defensively is not just about Plays The Right Away. It’s about having control of the puck in the defensive zone, facilitating the puck in transition, generating pressure on the forecheck, and being able to control territory without possession of the puck. Steel is good at that. And so the only drawback to Steel is that Dallas can’t clone him (not too many times, granted). Again, his offense isn’t something that pops. But it’s not so completely absent (as it is with players like Radek Faksa or Oskar Back) that he isn’t a net positive.

In terms of a shift-to-shift performance, he punches well above his weight. (Don’t get caught up in the idea of what a first liner should or sometimes does look like. This is really about what a player’s value is to their team outside of production.)

And this is where things get interesting for Steel. Could he become the Slim Charles of victory green¹?

Right now Dallas has quite a few vacant spots on the wings. If Dallas splits up Hintz and Robertson (with Hintz next to Rantanen, and Robertson next to Johnston, for example), then there are a number of different ways the top six could break. Mavrik Bourque is the most likely candidate to play next to a duo like Robertson/Johnston. But none of this is guaranteed. Could someone like Steel slot next to Hintz and Rantanen? Or might Steel take over the spot left vacant by Mason Marchment? Many of these combos make intuitive sense. After all, Duchene and Seguin have always lacked a strong defensive presence on their line. If Hintz is headed in the direction that the data suggests, the top line could use some of that too. We could be here all day — and for sure, I’m tempted to spend an hour on Louis Boulet’s roster builder just to figure out — but one thing is clear: Faksa, Back, and Colin Blackwell will be Dallas’ new fourth line (it’s hard to imagine Faksa playing anywhere but the fourth line although it’s certainly possible). Out of all the fourth liners to play up the lineup, Steel is the obvious bet.

It’s not that cut and dry though. Steel did find himself the target of a healthy scratch or two. And that’s what makes Steel’s presence so fascinating. He could be exactly who he’s been throughout his Stars tenure. He could also be the next Cody Eakin (oof). Or the next Patrick Eaves (yay!). Or he could find himself on the outs a bit depending on what happens next; of for that matter, if some of the Texas Stars forwards put pressure on the current crop of bottom sixers.

I would caution against the potential excitement of seeing Steel in the top or middle six. He’s had opportunities to play up the lineup, including opportunities in Anaheim and Minnesota. Despite his pedigree as having more offensive bite, that part of his game has simply never translated. He’s something of an inelastic player — his skills take center stage with players who are less skilled, but with skilled players his grindset doesn’t forward itself to others in creative or explicit ways. That’s fine because nobody’s asking him to score. But I do find it an odd limitation.

Nonetheless, Dallas has their own Harbor Freight in the bottom six thanks to Steel. And that’s a very valuable thing.

1. I’m not sure we can be friends if you don’t get this reference.