The Dallas Stars and star winger Jason Robertson still appear to be getting nowhere with their contract negotiations. Robertson, 26, is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1 and is due for a substantial raise on the $7.75 million salary he has made in each of the past four seasons.
Robertson and the Stars have been unable to reach a contract extension since he became eligible for one last year, and the two parties will likely need to find a resolution soon. However, according to hockey insider Frank Seravalli on the Big Show with Rusic and Rose, those talks are still not progressing, as Robertson and his representation may have a number in mind that the Stars do not want to meet.
“I still believe that they’re quite a bit a ways apart,” Seravalli said last week. “They’re going to have to, in my view at least, challenge their own internal cap structure. Meaning, if Mikko Rantanen is the top billing for you, are you willing to exceed that now for Jason Robertson? Because I think that’s what this situation calls for, at least cap-wise. [Robertson and his agent] are looking for, I believe, something in that $14 million a year range, and Rantanen is obviously south of that.”
Seravalli brings up the team’s other star winger, Mikko Rantanen, as past reporting has indicated that Stars general manager Jim Nill has a salary red line he does not want to cross with Robertson. That red line is supposedly the $12 million salary that Rantanen is making through the 2032-33 campaign.
Nill is thought to want Robertson at a much cheaper rate, akin to the $10.6 million that defenseman Thomas Harley is set to earn starting next year. Given that Robertson’s side may want closer to the $14 million figure reported by Seravalli, there will need to be a major compromise for Robertson to remain with the Stars.
However, according to recent reporting by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, there are positive signs that those agreements could be imminent, and it looks increasingly likely that Robertson will stay in Dallas. Following the team’s first-round playoff exit, Nill also said during his end-of-season media availability that re-signing Robertson is his top priority this summer.
Robertson, who is set to turn 27 in July, recorded 96 points (45g, 51a) in 82 games this past season, finishing 10th overall in league scoring. For comparison’s sake, the player who finished directly ahead of Robertson, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (97 points), is set to earn a league-high $14 million in salary next season.
Nill’s possible valuation of Robertson is likely somewhat driven by how cash-strapped the Stars will be this summer. Despite the NHL’s salary cap increasing to $104 million, the Stars are set to have only a little over $11 million in cap space this summer and have other players to try to retain. Included on that list are captain Jamie Benn, Adam Erne, Michael Bunting, Nathan Bastian, Mavrik Bourque, Arttu Hyry, Alexander Petrovic, Kyle Capobianco, and Vladislav Kolyachonok.
If the Stars and Robertson can’t settle on a new contract, Dallas will have to consider trading their former second-round pick, who will have a long list of suitors willing to part with big-time assets. One of those teams will likely be the Washington Capitals, as general manager Chris Patrick continues to seek an impact addition to his forward group.
The Capitals have both the stockpiled prospects and draft picks for a big trade, and the cap space to sign Robertson to the deal he wants. According to PuckPedia, the Caps are expected to have $31.4 million in open space ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Robertson may also become a target for an offer sheet as teams know the Stars will be unable to match a contract above a certain salary threshold. However, to pry Robertson away with an offer sheet, a team will probably need to rise above the $11,939,166 salary mark, which would cost them their first-round picks in four of the next five drafts (2027 onward) as compensation to Dallas.
