The New Jersey Devils have been circling a big swing all offseason, and Jason Robertson keeps sitting at the center of it.
They’ve already taken a shot at Barrett Hayton with an offer sheet, only to watch that plan fall apart. They’ve also been connected to Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Jordan Kyrou. But the name that really gets Devils fans talking is Robertson, the Dallas Stars winger who would come with a massive price tag.
That price is the first hurdle. Robertson is seeking a new deal worth more than $12 million per season, and if the Devils were to seriously chase him, they’d need to be prepared to go to $14 million per season or even higher. That would be a tough number to absorb after giving Nico Hischier a contract under $12 million this offseason, but the source here is clear: Robertson would be worth it.
If Sunny Mehta somehow managed to land him, the impact would be immediate. Even if a deal meant giving up NHL players such as Jonas Siegenthaler and Dawson Mercer, Robertson would lift the Devils’ ceiling and push the roster into a different tier.
That would put New Jersey in the same conversation as the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals.
But the clock is working against them.
The Devils no longer have any restricted free agents on the NHL roster. They re-signed Arseny Gritsyuk and traded Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames, which means Sunny Mehta isn’t focused on arbitration deadlines for his own roster. Unless, of course, he’s watching those dates with trade possibilities in mind.
There are still some notable names heading to arbitration this season, including Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and Braden Schneider in the Metropolitan Division. Robertson is the biggest of the bunch, and if things go all the way to arbitration, he’s the one who figures to land the biggest contract.
That’s why Dallas would likely want a resolution before then. If Stars GM Jim Nill is serious about moving Robertson, the expectation is that he’ll want it done before arbitration. Robertson’s arbitration is Saturday, July 25th, which leaves teams with less than two weeks to put their best offer on the table and get the player to agree.
Because of the money involved and the cost to acquire him, the Devils look unlikely to be the team that gets it done this offseason. They’re still trying to add while keeping analytics in mind, and in this case, that makes Robertson feel like a deal too far.
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Devils Still Have One Summer Need They Can't Ignore
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Even so, the Devils still have a summer item they cannot really set aside: another scoring piece for the roster. General manager Sunny Mehta has already shown a willingness to chase help, and with the market still offering possibilities, New Jersey continues to weigh veteran free-agent options, including Vladimir Tarasenko, as it looks for a way to deepen the attack for 2026-27 without waiting for the perfect answer to appear on its own. [Read more 🡒]