Jason Robertson is staying in Dallas after all, and the price tag is set. The Stars forward signed a one-year, $12 million contract Tuesday night, ending the restricted free agent’s arbitration path before it ever got to a hearing.
The move closes a tense stretch for both sides. Robertson had filed for arbitration before the NHL’s July 5 deadline, and while Dallas had already extended a $9.3 million qualifying offer, there was never any certainty he would simply accept it. He was looking for a major bump from the four-year, $31 million deal he just finished, a contract that carried a $7.75 million cap hit.
Robertson also had other options on the table. Last month, he turned down a trade and an eight-year contract extension from the Seattle Kraken that would have paid him $15 million annually. Before he filed for arbitration, multiple teams were said to have interest in trading for the 26-year-old, who turns 27 on Wednesday.
On the ice, Robertson has been exactly the kind of scorer teams chase. He put up 45 goals last season, one shy of his career high, and tied for fourth among NHL skaters in 2025-26 with Wyatt Johnston, Kirill Kaprizov and Macklin Celebrini. The second-round pick Dallas took in 2017 has averaged 91 points over the last four regular seasons, and he has played all 82 games in each of them.
His playoff line last spring was quieter by comparison, but still productive: five goals and eight points in six games as the Stars were knocked out in the first round by the Minnesota Wild.