The Pittsburgh Penguins are not done chasing Jason Robertson.
With free agency opening Wednesday, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported that Pittsburgh is pushing hard for the Dallas Stars winger, and that Kyle Dubas has long had Robertson in his sights. The report also suggests the Penguins believe Robertson would be open to playing in Pittsburgh if Dallas decides a move is necessary.
Yohe wrote, "(Kyle) Dubas has long wanted to acquire Robertson," Yohe writes. "He felt similarly about star defenseman Erik Karlsson and landed him in Pittsburgh a few summers ago after trying to do the same in Toronto.
Robertson was not willing to play in Seattle, but the Penguins believe the winger would be willing to play in Pittsburgh. Penguins sources said Dallas is more interested in Pittsburgh’s young assets than its veterans.
Dubas admitted last weekend that he tried tirelessly to move up in the draft. By several accounts, he also tried to make quite a splash by landing Robertson.
It didn’t happen, but Dubas has not given up."
Robertson’s appeal is obvious. He’s still in his prime, and he just turned in a monster 2025-26 season for the Stars with 45 goals and 51 assists.
Even after being left off the U.S. Olympic team, he kept rolling and finished the NHL season in prolific fashion.
The money is where this gets tricky for Dallas. Robertson is believed to be worth around $12 million per year, and the Stars only have about that much cap space left to fill out their entire roster. That makes a trade at least possible, and Pittsburgh is ready to stay in the mix.
Yohe added, "So long as a trade is possible, though, Dubas is likely to keep trying to make it work," Yohe writes. "Though he is extremely reluctant to deal too many young assets - the organization had next to no prospects when Dubas took over in 2023, and he’s done strong work building the system - Dubas is willing to make a dent in his system to land a young player of Robertson’s caliber."
With the free-agent market light on true headliners, a deal for Robertson would be the kind of move that changes the entire feel of July for the Penguins.
In Other News...
Mason Marchment's Next Move Will Sting For Stars Fans
Mason Marchment is headed into another chapter after a season that already had him bouncing between teams, and the move carries a familiar sting for Dallas fans who watched him find his best form here. Since 2019-20, Marchment has piled up 234 points in 370 regular season games, but his most productive stretch came with the Stars in 2023-24, when he delivered 22 goals and 53 points and looked like a strong fit in the lineup.
Now the next contract and the long runway attached to it shift the conversation entirely, especially with the family tie that runs through his late father, Bryan Marchment, and the Sharks organization. For Dallas, it is another reminder that a useful middle-six piece who could help drive offense is gone for good, and the loss is likely to linger because of how well he had settled in before the latest turn in his career. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Hit A Painful Setback Right Before Free Agency
A collapsed offseason swing has left Dallas staring at a tighter cap picture than it expected as free agency approaches, and the pressure is now squarely on general manager Jim Nill to make the math work. The Stars have a little more than nine million dollars in cap space, which sounds workable until you stack it against the business still on the docket and the number of important decisions the front office has to juggle.
Jason Robertson sits near the top of that list, with Mavrik Bourque and Arttu Hyry also needing new deals while qualifying-offer and offer-sheet concerns linger. Jamie Benns future is still unresolved as well, adding another layer to the uncertainty, and it would not be a surprise if Dallas has to clear room through a trade or two before the market opens. [Read more 🡒]