The Dallas Stars are lining up an early start to what could become a major negotiation with Jason Robertson.
General manager Jim Nill told NHL.com’s Tracey Myers and Robert Tiffin that the team plans to open extension talks with the winger at the beginning of December, even though Robertson cannot actually sign a new deal until January 1st.
That timing matters because Robertson’s summer was already complicated. Dallas was unable to lock him into a long-term contract, and at one point tried to send him to Seattle. That move fell apart when Robertson did not want to sign there, despite an eight-year offer that would have paid between $14MM and $15MM per season.
In the end, Robertson stayed put on a one-year, $12MM deal. The contract gave him security for the season while pushing the real contract decision down the road.
Robertson has done plenty to strengthen his bargaining position. The 27-year-old has topped 40 goals in three of the last five seasons, and over that same five-year span he has finished with point totals ranging from 79 to 109. He has also opened this season well, posting four goals and three assists in his first eight games.
The market has also moved since late June, especially for top-end scorers. That makes it easy to imagine Robertson’s next contract landing above the Kraken’s prior offer, at least in annual value.
That kind of deal would be expensive for Dallas, but the Stars should be in a much better place to handle it next year. They barely squeezed into cap compliance to start this season at Robertson’s current number, but Tyler Seguin’s $9.85MM AAV comes off the books after this year, and the salary cap is projected to rise by $9.5MM. Even after Casey DeSmith’s new raise late last month, Dallas is projected to have nearly $35MM in cap room for 2027-28, according to PuckPedia.
Nill made clear when Robertson signed this summer that the goal was to get a long-term agreement on the next contract. He also said he wanted to avoid distractions once talks picked back up. For now, the setup looks favorable for both of those goals, even if the actual signing has to wait until January.
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Stars Get A Home Test That Could Say A Lot
The Stars are getting a useful measuring-stick game at American Airlines Center, where Boston comes in playing some of its best hockey of the season. Dallas has won two straight and will have a chance to see how that recent push stacks up against a Bruins club that has been rolling for weeks, giving this one a little more edge than a typical regular-season stop.
For Dallas, the timing matters as much as the opponent. This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, so the Stars can make an early statement at home and set the tone for the matchup before the series shifts later on. With both teams carrying momentum, the kind of detail that decides this game could tell a lot about where Dallas stands right now. [Read more 🡒]