The Dallas Stars averted a massive meltdown by inking Jason Robertson to a one-year, $12 million deal on Tuesday.
The deal essentially avoided the head-to-head collision that would have been a dreadful arbitration hearing. The hearing could have potentially widened the chasm between both sides.
The middle-ground solution seems to have been the most reasonable outcome. However, it did little to actually address the crisis afflicting the Stars and Jason Robertson.
To begin with, it’s just a one-year deal. While Robertson will be able to suit up in training camp next fall, the speculation won’t go away anytime soon. There will always be that thought in the back of everyone’s minds.
And it could even become a distraction for the player and organization.
The only real way to make the problem go away will be to sign the 27-year-old to a long-term extension. That possibility is certainly on the table. But it’s not the sort of thing that will be happening in the coming weeks or months.
If anything, the two sides just bought each other some time to figure out what to do moving forward. The situation, nevertheless, will come down to one crucial aspect.
Stars Will Be Flush with Cap Space in 2027-28
The Stars only bought themselves enough time to sign Jason Robertson to a massive long-term contract next summer.
According to PuckPedia, Dallas will have over $41 million in cap space next summer. The biggest deal that will be coming off the books is Tyler Seguin’s. His $9.85 million deal will end, pretty much giving the organization nearly $10 million to throw at Robertson.
That’s why it wouldn’t be insane to think that the Stars could ink the 40-goal scorer to a seven-year deal at $15 million AAV. The cap space wouldn’t be an issue. Even if Seguin returned, it wouldn’t be at a $9 million cap hit.
The list of potential UFAs for Dallas next season will be mostly bottom-six complementary pieces that could sign for around $1 million apiece.
So, the organization would be in a good position to lock up Robertson without this year’s drama.
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Jason Robertson Could Still Be a Flight Risk
The biggest difference next summer will be that Jason Robertson will be a UFA. As such, he will be free to sign wherever he likes.
That situation makes him a flight risk moving forward.
The likeliest situation here is that Robertson and the Stars have a handshake deal in which no one will do anything rash. That means the Stars won’t be trading Robertson, and Robertson won’t be jumping ship.
If it gets to that point, it will be because something has broken down along the way.
Things don’t seem to be heading down that path. The prevailing chatter has posited that Robertson wants to stay in Dallas and the Stars want to keep him.
Ultimately, it might just be a matter of time before the two sides announce an extension. It won’t happen during the summer, but there’s a good chance it could happen at some point during the season.
Jason Robertson Crisis Far from over for Dallas Stars