David Pagnotta says the Penguins, Blackhawks, and Mammoth are among the teams interested in Jason Robertson, widening the Stars winger's market.
The report is a field, not a finish line. Pagnotta named the three clubs as interested, which is a growing list of suitors, not confirmed offers.
The timing is everything. This lands right after Elliotte Friedman reported Robertson declined a roughly $15M Seattle offer, so with that path stalled, more teams are circling.
Look at the prize. Robertson is 26, coming off 45 goals and 96 points, and he's a restricted free agent as of July 1. A true top-line scorer hitting a crossroads.
That's Dallas's dilemma. The Stars hoped to keep him near Mikko Rantanen's $12M but are reportedly at least $2M apart, and a wider market gives Jim Nill more trade options if an extension stalls.
Pagnotta added the new names.
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The market widens after Robertson's Seattle no
The suitors make sense. Pittsburgh sits 10th under Kyle Dubas, Utah is a rising 15th, and even 31st-place Chicago could use a finisher. All three want top-line scoring.
The RFA piece complicates it, though. Robertson's movement runs through a sign-and-trade or an offer-sheet path, so interest matters more here than a simple open-market bidding war.
Every new name shifts the leverage. More suitors strengthen Dallas's hand in a trade, but they also pressure Nill to either pay up or pick a partner. The Seattle decline already showed the player has his own number.
The demand read is the real takeaway. A 45-goal winger drawing this many teams, even after one offer fell through, tells you the talent outweighs the contract noise.
Here's my read: this is one of the summer's hottest names now. Whether Dallas extends him or trades him, the market is telling Nill exactly what Robertson is worth. The Seattle no didn't cool it, it opened the door for everyone else.
So the saga keeps building, more suitors, an RFA clock, a $2M gap.
With the draft Friday and July 1 closing in, Dallas's next call shapes all of it. The interest is surging. The resolution isn't here yet.
Should Dallas trade Robertson or pay up to keep him?
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