Jason Robertson Needs a New Contract, But Where?
Jason Robertson is an absolutely amazing hockey player. The 23-year-old was the X-factor on a Dallas Stars team that made the playoffs in 2022. He lit the lamp 41 times and added another 38 assists in 74 games played this season. As great and crucial as he is to this Stars team, he is still without a contract — 2021-22 was the last year of his entry-level deal in Dallas. With over $10 million in cap space, you’d think a deal is fairly easy to hammer out. Think again. Stars owner Tom Gaglardi had this to say on a recent podcast:
Does he have a point? The short answer is no. The only thing you could hold against Robertson at this point is his playoff performance. Mind you, he put up four points in seven games against a Flames team that was clearly superior. He wasn’t the main reason Dallas made it to overtime of Game 7 (cough, cough Jake Oettinger), but his 79 regular season points had a large bearing on Stars fans not praying for good lottery odds. This situation feels similar to that of Alex Debrincat: a young stud winger who hit 40 goals on a struggling team and in need of a new contract. If Dallas is not careful, the vultures will come circling over Robertson. He is certainly next up for a decent payday.
The Art of the Deal?
What’s most ironic about Gaglardi’s quotes is the body of work him and his front office have when it comes to locking up players. Jamie Benn is being paid $9.5 million per year until 2025. He has fallen off a cliff and hasn’t hit 50 points in a season since 2018-19. Despite whining about young guys and what they ask, he had no problem sanctioning $8.5 million per season for Miro Heiskanen right after his ELC.
I will excuse Tyler Seguin for his scary injury situations. However, he is getting paid over $9.8 million per season until 2027. I hate saying it, but the guy is not the same player they signed him to. Even worse is this is a deal that could end up being put on the LTIR if things don’t get sorted out relatively soon. I am hoping for the best for Seguin because he deserves it. They’ve also had a busy, if not good offseason. However, there is a lot more to do when you consider both Robertson and Oettinger need new contracts.
Robertson deserves every penny he asks for. Especially when Gaglardi threw out the number of $7 million per season. If that’s for three or four years, even a blind man could see that’s incredible value for a bridge contract. This could turn into one bad snowball for the Stars. Remember, Roope Hintz is due for a new deal next summer. How many years does Joe Pavelski have left? Those Suter and Khudobin deals do not look so pretty now. We already saw what happened with Alex Debrincat in Chicago. The odds of the same happening to Robertson seem to grow by the day.
Fun Update
As I was writing this article, news broke of Tage Thompson signing an extension in Buffalo. The numbers? seven years, $50 million. Mind you, that’s for a 24-year-old who scored 38 goals and 68 points. Robertson is a 23-year-old (22 in season) who scored 41 goals and 79 points (in fewer games!). The guy is also 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, so he’s not a more-feathery player like Johnny Gaudreau. If Gaglardi didn’t have his head stuck in the sand, seven years and $50 million should already be in the bank right now. Instead, he wants to play hardball and possibly lose one of the best players they’ve had in the better part of a decade.
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