Stars Swap Roster Headaches: Capobianco Out Four Weeks, Steel Returns

The NHL injury report is basically a revolving door, and the Dallas Stars are the latest team stuck spinning in it. Defenseman Kyle Capobianco is officially out for four weeks with a lower-body injury, but the hockey gods are at least offering a consolation prize. Center Sam Steel is cleared and returning to the lineup.

It is the classic one-in, one-out roster shuffle. You get your depth center back, but you have to sacrifice a blueliner to the trainer's room for a month. For a Dallas team trying to find its rhythm, losing a defensive piece right as the offense gets a reinforcement is objectively frustrating.

The Stars could use a reset anyway. After stringing together a couple of solid wins against the Winnipeg Jets and the New York Islanders, they just got absolutely cooked 5-1 by the New Jersey Devils. That kind of defensive collapse is exactly what you do not want to see right before losing a guy like Capobianco for a dozen games.

Steel stepping back onto the ice is a big deal for the bottom six. He brings the kind of energy and faceoff utility that does not always make the highlight reel but keeps a coach from losing his mind during a tight third period.

From a fantasy and daily lineup perspective, Steel’s return scrambles the ice time distribution just enough to matter. He might not be moving the moneyline by himself, but his presence stabilizes a forward group that needs to generate more sustained pressure.

Dallas hosts the Montreal Canadiens next, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. That is a very manageable stretch of the schedule to figure out the new defensive pairings. If the Stars want to wash the taste of that Devils blowout out of their mouths, they need the blue line to hold up while Steel gets his legs back under him.