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The Dallas Stars' long nightmare is over. At least, it's over for a little while.
Jason Robertson signed a one-year contract worth $12 million. He will open the season with the Stars, allowing fans, team officials and Robertson himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Stars and Robertson essentially punted.
Robertson will make as much as Mikko Rantanen next season. Reportedly, the Stars superstar winger had been asking for a $14 million-per-year contract. Dallas, with notable salary-cap issues, could not afford to make that happen with its current salary structure.
Dallas Stars buy themselves time on Jason Robertson, but at what cost?
It's entirely possible that Robertson and Dallas GM Jim Nill already have a handshake agreement in place. When Robertson becomes eligible to sign a long-term contract extension on Jan. 1, 2027, we should have a better idea.
If not, things will get complicated, though perhaps still less complicated than they got this summer. The Stars can afford to carry a $14 million cap hit in 2027-28, but Robertson would be well within his rights to ask Dallas for more money if they go back to the table on a long-term contract.
The reported ask of $14 million per season is about 13.3 percent of the current salary cap. That same percentage next summer would be closer to $15.2 million per season. Additionally, by going this route, Robertson will be ineligible to sign for eight years. The maximum re-sign length is dropping to seven years in September, per the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement.
Still, Robertson might be more willing to give Dallas a small discount on the number in order to achieve his goal of being both the highest-paid Star and remaining a Star for the rest of his prime years.
The Stars have approximately $41 million in cap space next summer, per Puckpedia.
How much of a threat is Jason Robertson to reach free agency?
The relationship between Robertson and Dallas would need to fray considerably. That's not to say the relationship hasn't been strained by this ongoing process, but Robertson taking less money on a one-year deal indicates a willingness to work with the Stars.
Still, Robertson will likely have agent Andy Scott in his ear reminding him that, should he reach free agency, he would likely be the best player to reach the unrestricted open market since Johnny Gaudreau. Knowing how difficult it is to acquire a true difference-making goal-scoring talent, many teams would likely offer Robertson a blank check. He's a rare elite goal-scoring winger who grades out as an elite two-way five-on-five player, according to analytics website HockeyStatCards.
NHL culture and history indicate it's not highly likely Robertson reaches free agency. He could, though. Forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Artemi Panarin and John Tavares did, but all three players had factors at play that don't apply to Robertson. Gaudreau, who was killed by a suspected drunk driver in August 2024, wanted to move closer to his family. Panarin sought a large-market American city. Tavares wanted to play for his childhood team. Robertson, at day's end, reportedly wants to play for Dallas.
A Jason Robertson trade can't be ignored
The Toronto Maple Leafs approached Mitch Marner in 2025 about a potential trade to Carolina for Rantanen. Marner would not waive his no-movement clause, and then he walked for basically nothing anyway (sign-and-trade return aside).
If the Stars struggle to get Robertson to agree to terms by the trade deadline, they'd have to remember what happened between Toronto and Marner.
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