Getting creative: Jason Robertson continues to excel amid action-packed season

Jason Robertson might be the most creative goal-scorer in Stars history.

At age 26, he is moving up the franchise leaderboards with 198 in his career (12th in franchise history). Doing that in just 426 games, he is pacing ahead of even Mike Modano, who finished with 557 goals in a Stars uniform and currently holds the franchise record.

Bottom line, he is elite in this skill.

But a couple of recent goals show why. With the Stars coming off getting shut out in Columbus and needing an even-strength goal to help break the ice of a frigid slump in January, Robertson stepped in with a minute left on Thursday against St. Louis.

After Roope Hintz tied up a faceoff to the right of the Blues goal, Robertson stepped in, secured the puck, stick-handled it into the right position on his blade and then calmly lifted it past goalie Jordan Binnington for the game-winner.

It was a trademark Jason Robertson goal.

“That’s a special player making a great shot,” said captain Jamie Benn.

While coach Glen Gulutzan added, “Just great hands. He didn't have much space. It's a major goal. It's a huge goal. We were just talking about coming off Columbus, and you just need to find one. It's not always how many you score, it's when you score. That was a big goal for us from him tonight.”

That’s sort of what Robertson has done for much of his career. A second-round draft pick in 2017, the lanky winger was a great scorer in junior hockey, leading the OHL in scoring with 117 points (48 goals, 69 assists) in 62 games in 2019.

After a year in the AHL, Robertson jumped into the Stars lineup and quickly became one of their go-to guys. He became the first player in Dallas Stars history to break 100 points (109 in 2022-23) and is on pace to exceed the 46 goals he scored that season.

“He puts a lot of work in, and it shows,” said goalie Jake Oettinger.

Robertson is a rink rat. He always has been. He grew up in the youth leagues around Los Angeles and then expanded on that when his family moved to the Detroit area at about age 10. He and his brother Nick (a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs) love to spend hours trying new shots and finding ways to study angles and goalies.

Robertson loves to work with Oettinger (as well as Casey DeSmith and former Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood) after practice to find new ways to score. It’s a practice that helps all parties.

“It’s great because I’ll tell him things I’m seeing and he’ll tell me things he’s seeing,” said Oettinger. “It really can help you in a game when things are going 100 miles per hour.”

The game-winner Thursday was like that. How did Robertson know to get the puck up in a blink of an eye? Was it scouting? Was it instinct?

“It’s a bit of both,” Robertson said. “I knew there were a couple of sticks in there, so you try to get it off, especially with how tight it was. The play kind of broke down when it got stuck around [Hintz'] skate. Then, you’re just playing hockey.”

That’s an interesting statement from Robertson, because he puts so much work into “playing” hockey. He loves to look at his shifts on his iPad during the game. He loves to study opposing goalies and their tendencies on off-days. He loves to try to understand new ways to score goals.

“It’s your job, so you try to do anything you can to get better,” he said.

Getting better has been a big topic around Robertson this season. He has been working on improving his overall defensive game and his physical play, and has appeared to do both. While it would be easy to speculate that task coincided perfectly with the opportunity to make Team USA for the Olympics, Robertson said his main goal is to help the Stars win.

After not getting named to the Olympic roster, the focus on Dallas makes sense. And the Stars are definitely happy with the results.

“From the start of the year until now, I think his two-way game has really improved,” Gulutzan said. “I’ll double down – I still don’t know why he’s not on the [Olympic] team – but he can play any way you want, he’s that cerebral of a player. I think his defensive game has gotten better every game. It’s a credit to him.”

His offensive game doesn’t look too shabby, either. In a 6-2 win over Boston last week, he wired in a perfect shot from a low angle as one of his two markers on the night. It was a highlight reel that started the Internet chatter up about the fact Team USA would be missing one of the league’s best scorers in Milan.

Because of injuries and the potential to be a replacement, Robertson still could still participate in Italy in February. He currently sits third in the NHL in goal-scoring with 30.

He also can become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so there are contract talks going on. The Stars appear to be patient, as they could either sign or trade him when the season is over, but the whole “future” thing is definitely swirling around his brain.

But Robertson said in January after the Olympic rosters were announced that simply enjoying hockey every day is easy for him.

“You know I love the game,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this, I don’t have to think, I just love playing hockey. That’s the best part of it, I get to play and enjoy it and the other stuff takes care of itself.”

Right now, the evidence is all over the ice.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.