Jason Robertson finally has a contract with the Dallas Stars, but it only buys one year of certainty.
The deal is worth $12 million for the coming season, ending a standoff that dragged on for months.
GM Jim Nill addressed the negotiation this week on NHL Tonight, and he didn't pretend it was easy.
"You're dealing with star players and they deserve to get paid," Nill said. "We're trying to find the right number that makes it fit."
He was blunt about what actually broke the logjam too. Robertson filed for arbitration, and that deadline forced both sides to move.
"Until you hit deadlines, nothing really happens," Nill said. That's not a complaint. That's just how these negotiations tend to go.
Robertson put up 96 points last season, 45 goals and 51 assists over a full 82-game slate, a career year by any measure.
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Why one year doesn't actually solve anything long-term
Nill was direct about what comes next too. "Our plan is to try to get him signed here this season sometime, before he comes to UFA."
Robertson becomes an unrestricted free agent next July 1st if nothing gets done before then, and the calendar is already working against Dallas.
The March 1st trade deadline looms as the real pressure point, the last realistic date to lock in term before leverage shifts entirely to Robertson.
There's history here too. Robertson actually rejected a sign-and-trade that would have sent him to the Seattle Kraken for the 7th overall pick.
That deal reportedly included an eight-year, $15 million AAV extension in Seattle. He turned it down and stayed in Dallas instead.
Whatever tension exists from that fallout hasn't been addressed publicly, and Nill didn't touch it directly in his comments this week.
Robertson also delivered in the playoffs, putting up 8 points in 6 games during Dallas's series loss to Minnesota.
That's not the profile of a player Dallas wants walking for nothing. It's exactly why the clock matters so much here.
Is a one-year bridge deal actually progress, or just delaying the same hard conversation to a worse bargaining position next spring?
For now, Dallas remains a Cup contender with its 40-goal winger in the fold. How long that lasts is the only question that matters.
Should the Stars have found a way to lock up Jason Robertson long-term instead of a one-year bridge deal?
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