Jason Robertson signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. It avoids arbitration. But it also sets up a pretty clear expiration date on his time in Texas — unless something changes before January 1, when both sides can start talking long-term again.
Robertson, 27, was coming off 45 goals and 96 points in 82 games last season. He added eight more points in six playoff games. Since 2021-22, he leads the Stars in just about everything: goals (213), assists (276), points (489), power-play goals (60), power-play points (156). He’s their best offensive weapon, full stop.
The cap crunch nobody is pretending doesn’t exist
“It was no surprise,” Robertson said Friday, via NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. “Everyone can see that they are in a little (salary cap) crunch. At the end of the day, they had my rights, right? I wasn’t free to go anywhere this year so, the chances of staying in Dallas this offseason were high obviously because of that. It just happened in this way and obviously we’ll have time to revisit it later this year.”
That’s about as honest as you’ll hear a player get about the business side. He knows the math. The Stars know the math. Everyone is just kicking the can down the road a little.
It’s been a weird offseason for Robertson. At the end of June, he reportedly turned down an eight-year offer from Seattle in what would’ve been a sign-and-trade. There were whispers he might end up somewhere he actually wanted to go, with Jim Nill working the phones. But nothing materialized. So here he is, one year, $12 million, and a whole lot of questions about what happens next summer.
“I mean, knowing now, knowing what happened yesterday, I’d like to leave everything in the past and what happened from then to now doesn’t matter anymore,” Robertson said. “We just want to focus on having a great summer this year, coming to camp ready to go and try to win a (Stanley) Cup.”
Nill keeps it short and sweet
Stars GM Jim Nill talked to Robertson on Wednesday morning. “He’s up in Detroit, he just wants to continue his training, get excited about this year,” Nill said. “He loves hockey and he just wants to be training and know where he wants to be for this season. So that’s a long story short.”
That’s the party line. And for now, it works. Robertson will be back on the ice in Dallas for 2026-27, likely playing at an All-Star level again. The Stars will chase a Cup with their best forward locked in for one more run. But if they can’t get a long-term deal done by next summer, Robertson hits unrestricted free agency. And then all bets are off.
For a guy who just turned down eight years from Seattle, it’s hard to imagine he’ll settle for anything less than max term and max money next time around.
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