This past Monday September 21st, the Dallas Stars locked up a blue collar role player. Sam Steel signed a four year deal on September 23rd. Jim Nill kept a blue collar, hard working centerman for the next few years.
From winning faceoffs to blocking shots, Steel does all of the important jobs that won’t make ESPN Sports Center top 10. Yet he’s somebody that’ll always have a place on an NHL team.
Defense first penalty killer
Steel’s biggest jobs for the team are being a defensive forward, and killing off penalties. He’ll likely be playing on the third (aka the checking) line most of the time. Steel is at his best as a bottom six forward.
On occasion, Steel can surprise with a goal. Somebody who can be counted on for depth scoring. The Stars are hoping Steel can pot a few five on five goals after game numbers 84 too. It’s not just Steel on this Stars team who need to score more. The same can be said about everybody aside from Jason Robertson, and Wyatt Johnston.
Veteran sticking around
To win in the NHL you need your youth movement, and veterans like Steel who know their way around the league. Entering his eighth season in the NHL, Steel has been around for a minute. He’ll be starting his fourth year in Dallas. Steel will be eager to keep the string of consecutive playoff appearances going. Hopefully going deeper into the spring, and summer than previous years.
Steel is one of the most reliable players to be on a roster on a nightly basis. When you have Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Roppe Hintz, and Matt Duchene in your lineup injuries will be a problem. Expanding the regular season by two games, and two less preseason games will mean more injuries for everyone. It’s the nature of the beast. Steel will become more valuable in Dallas than ever before.
All 32 teams will deal with injuries. Having a guy who is known to do all of the dirty work (the Carolina Hurricanes are full of guys known for this) can make a big difference down the line.
He can play anywhere
Steel is a bottom six center who can be slotted at any position in the Stars lineup. A versatile forward in the inevitable event of injuries, and special teams (in particular the penalty kill). Dallas will prefer he play on the bottom six, and is one of the best at keeping the opposing team’s power play numbers down.
Photo credit: Mark Humphrey/AP
Finishing is the number one criticism for Steel. Having scored 61 goals off of 175 points thus far in his NHL career. Steel doesn’t need to be a top five goal scorer on the team. He just needs to find the back of the net a bit more often. Also keep scoring timely goals like this one.
Featured photo: Sam Hodde/Getty Images
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Categorized:Stars