Jason Robertson's next contract might not come from the Dallas Stars, and Friday's rumors just raised the stakes.
Insider David Pagnotta reported Friday that rival teams were contemplating an offer sheet for Robertson before the draft, in the 15 million dollar AAV range and up.
Pagnotta added those teams are still considering the move, even now.
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Robertson gives any team a proven top six scorer. He put up 96 points on 45 goals and 51 assists across 82 games this season, finishing at a plus-22.
He also chipped in 15 power play goals and 9 game-winning goals, the kind of production that makes a front office sweat over an offer sheet.
Jeff Marek reported separately Friday that Robertson and the Stars are locked in negotiations right now.
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Why Dallas can't afford to stall much longer
Robertson is coming off a cap hit of 7,750,000 dollars, a number that looks like a discount compared to where his next deal is heading.
Any offer sheet in the 15 million range would blow past that figure by more than double, and Dallas would have days, not weeks, to match it.
That's the risk with letting a negotiation drag into July. Other teams start doing math on your player.
Dallas finished the season 50-20-12 for 112 points, third overall in the league, with a plus-52 goal differential built in part on nights Robertson carried the top line.
Head coach Glen Gulutzan and GM Jim Nill know exactly what losing that production would mean for a lineup built to win now, not rebuild later.
Robertson wasn't just a regular season scorer either. He posted 5 goals and 3 assists in 6 playoff games, a point-per-game pace when the checking got tighter.
Letting a player like that walk over a contract standoff would be malpractice for a front office with a three-year Cup window still open. Bob's not shy about saying that.
The Sheet's reporting puts two separate threads in motion now, an offer sheet threat and a Dallas negotiation that's stuck somewhere between progress and gridlock.
Whichever way this breaks, it won't stay quiet through the rest of July.
Should the Stars pay Jason Robertson 15 million a year to keep him off the offer sheet market?
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