Dallas Stars have one choice with their top goal scorer. There is no going back
Less than two months after Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said the team’s plan and intention was to sign All-Star Jason Robertson to a new contract, they made every effort to trade him.
Life comes at you fast, especially when you can’t agree on a dollar amount.
For the first time in a long time, the Stars are navigating a messy offseason that will now potentially require couples counseling. The failed attempt to deal Robertson to Seattle has no good path forward for him to remain with the Stars.
They don’t think he’s worth the big contract. He isn’t. He does. They must trade Robertson before the start of the season. If they don’t, this cloud will only grow and follow both he and the team throughout the 2026-27 season.
The restricted free agent now knows with 20/10 vision how the only organization he’s ever known feels about him; when this sort of development occurs, the recovery process is nearly impossible.
Where the Stars sit with Jason Robertson
This summer and next are the most important of Robertson’s career. He is in the window to score a life-changing payday. He is a restricted free agent now, and can be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Three times in his six full NHL seasons Robertson has scored more than 40 goals, including 45 last season. He will turn 27 this month, and is in the prime years of his career.
The Stars balked at the initial exchange of numbers with Robertson’s agent; last week, they tried to trade Robertson to Seattle in exchange for the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NHL amateur draft. Seattle wanted to give Robertson an eight-year, $120 million contract.
He said no. He wants to be with the Stars, and on a team that can win.
How the Stars’ relationship with Robertson recovers from this ...
“No clue,” one member of the organization said.
The Stars like Robertson, but only at a certain number. For a player, no matter how tough they are, that message stings. It hurts the pride. It hurts the ego.
Nill said this week he is not sure if the team will go to arbitration with Robertson; typically that is a process teams want to avoid because a player can feel betrayed coming out of it.
Nill keeps saying he wants to keep Robertson, but this is now a both-sides-of-his-mouth routine full of flaws.
The Stars’ future with Jason Robertson
The Stars look like a lot of other teams in the league, specifically the Minnesota Wild, that evaluate Robertson as a player who does not affect the ice beyond scoring goals. Scoring goals happens to be a rather important element to game, but if the puck isn’t going in the net, what is he doing to impact the team?
Is he creating ice for other players? Does he play on the penalty kill? Can he help shut down an opposing forward? Will he skate to the ugliest places on the ice?
Wild and Team USA GM Bill Guerin not selecting Robertson, who was one of the top NHL goal scorers last season, to join the U.S. Olympic team was not personal; it was an honest hockey assessment of a player. The U.S. won the gold medal for the first time since 1980, so the decision was more than justified.
The other concern, or it should be, is how Robertson will age with a big-money contract. The Maginot Line for NHL players is 30, and there is considerable risk that once Robertson crosses over the big contract will hamstring his team because the chances of him maintaining his current goal-production drop every year.
At this point in his career, Robertson must take care of himself. He has arrived at the destination players fantasize about — the coveted big-money contract. That needs to be his priority.
His preference to stay with the Stars is great, but he should not take dramatically less to do so. “Taking less” is fine, when you’re Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Judge or some other high-profile player who has made hundreds of millions and can sacrifice some salary from the team to help them build a better roster.
You don’t see a lot of that in the NHL, because the endorsement opportunities are a fraction of the other big leagues in North America.
The Stars are now officially “in it” with one of their best players, and the path forward will be awkward, messy with hurt feelings.
They can’t say they want to keep him and try to trade him at the same time.
