Fresh off trading Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators are “making a big push” to acquire left winger Jason Robertson from the Dallas Stars.
The Senators traded their captain, Tkachuk, to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night in a blockbuster move that sent three first-round picks and one second-round pick back to Canada’s capital city.
Now, it appears the Senators are turning their focus to acquiring another one of the league’s top wingers in Robertson, who is an RFA with one final season of control left in Dallas.
Senators Want Jason Robertson
In the wake of the Tkachuk blockbuster trade, NHL insider David Pagnotta took to social media to share that he’s heard the Senators are working hard to get Robertson from the Stars.
According to Pagnotta, the Senators want to work out a trade with Dallas for the star winger, but if they can’t work out a trade before July 1, they are considering giving him an offer sheet as a restricted free agent.
“Things are very fluid, and there’s plenty of time for Dallas to explore its options, but sources say Ottawa is making a big push for Jason Robertson. If a trade cannot be ironed out and he hits July 1 as an RFA, the Senators could present him with a significant offer sheet,” Pagnotta wrote on X.
Jason Robertson is an Elite Winger
Fresh off another incredible season in Dallas, where Robertson scored 45 goals and had 96 points in 82 games, the 26-year-old California native was named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team as the best left winger in the league.
Robertson is someone that Dallas obviously wants to keep around long-term. The problem is, Dallas might not have the cap space to give Robertson the deal he wants.
The winger was paid $7.75 this season, the final year of a four-year bridge deal that he signed. He still has one more year left of restricted free agency, and it’s possible he could sign for one more season with Dallas and then test unrestricted free agency next year.
However, it’s far more likely that Robertson covets a long-term contract with an annual average value (AAV) between $12 million and $15 million, which is how much the best wingers in the league are paid these days.
Dallas only has around $10 million in cap space this offseason, so while they could make some trades to free up salary and give Robertson the deal that he wants, it’s no sure thing they will be able to do that.
In that case, Dallas might rather trade Robertson and get some assets for him from another team. After Ottawa got four premium picks from Florida for Tkachuk, they have the assets necessary to make a trade for Robertson. Or, if they can’t work out a trade, they could offer him a long-term deal as a restricted free agent this summer, and Dallas would be in a difficult spot to match an offer sheet.
We’ll see what happens with Robertson, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and it appears that Robertson to Ottawa has legs.
Senators ‘Making a Big Push’ to Acquire Jason Robertson