Watching The Spreadsheets: A modest defense of Sam Steel, and what Steel's place on the roster is really about

He's not a top line forward. But what does Dallas really have as an alternative?

Ales Hemsky didn’t work with prime Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. But Alex Radulov sure did. So did Patrick Eaves. Cody Eakin did not, as much as Lindy Ruff wanted it to. But Patrick Sharp sure did.

For the most part, I feel like we’re still in the dark about line chemistries. And for the most part, I feel like coaches still leave something on the table. Is Ryan Hartman really the best option for Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, or does he simply check off a lot of boxes that coaches love, like being gritty? Is Max Domi really the best Toronto can do for Auston Matthews, or is he a lot like Hartman? A guy who isn’t all that textured for a forward, but fits into a convenient archetype? Ondrej Palat in New Jersey, Christian Dvorak in Philly, Brayden Schenn in St. Louis, Boone Jenner in Columbus — we could keep going but you get the idea.

Every now and then a team finds the perfect player who checks a lot of bottom six boxes, but has top six skill, like Zach Hymen or Ivan Barbashev. And so you probably get where I’m going with this. Yes, this is about Sam Steel. In fact, it’s mostly about Sam Steel. But it’s also about the other guys. It’s a lot easier to blame Steel. But is there room for criticism elsewhere? The other guys are the ones with their own gravity. Why can’t they bend others to their will?

Perhaps that’s unfair to Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen. Or perhaps it’s unfair to all three. Whatever the case, I’m not here to defend Steel’s chemistry or lackthereof on the top line. But I would like to modestly argue that he is — for now — the lesser of other evils.