Jason Robertson just signed a new one-year deal with the Dallas Stars, and it walks him straight to unrestricted free agency.
The reaction was swift this week, with Drew Livingstone calling it "brutal mismanagement" of the situation by GM Jim Nill.
"The Dallas Stars couldn't find a trade partner for Jason Robertson so instead they lock him up for one year, $12 million, and walk him right to unrestricted free agency," Livingstone wrote.
The number itself is not the issue. It is the term, just one season, on a player coming off a genuinely elite year.
Robertson posted 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points over 82 games this past season, a monster season by any measure.
He was even better in the playoffs, adding 8 points over 6 games as Dallas made a real postseason push.
Critics are calling this a mismanaged situation
A one-year bridge deal like this usually signals one of two things. Either the two sides could not agree on term, or Dallas is buying time before a bigger decision.
Either way, it puts Robertson one accident or one down year away from testing the open market completely on his own terms.
Dallas finished last season 50-20-12 for 112 points and third overall, proof the roster around Robertson is already built to compete right now.
Losing a 96-point winger for nothing next summer would undercut a lot of that success, which is exactly why this deal is drawing scrutiny.
Nill has built one of the league's more stable rosters over the years, but even a strong track record does not make every decision immune from criticism.
The original post laying out the criticism is worth reading directly.
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Whether this turns into a smart bridge or a costly mistake will not be clear until Robertson actually reaches the market next summer.
Was Jim Nill's one-year deal for Jason Robertson a mistake?
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