Let’s make a deal: Stars, Robertson in good place amid contract negotiations

In a lot of ways, the Stars and Jason Robertson have handled their current contract negotiation perfectly.

As the league’s salary cap appears to be going up and the history of unrestricted free agents seems to predict separation between franchises and their top players, Robertson and Dallas have a year where they can stay pretty calm.

Because Robertson doesn’t turn 27 until July 22, 2025, he will still be a restricted free agent at the end of this contract. That means the Stars and Robertson have time to wait before panic sets in on a potential extension - or the need for a trade. Mikko Rantanen had the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent, and he and Colorado couldn’t get that done during last season. As a result, Rantanen was traded twice last year.

The plan for Robertson, it seems, is he plays the entire season with the Stars and then the two sides revisit the contract when the season is over.

“We have team control for two more years, RFA rights, so it’s a different time-frame for us,” Stars GM Jim Nill said.

Robertson is in the last year of a four-year deal that averages $7.75 million. With the salary cap going up and his history of posting more than a point per game, he should be in for a big raise. Just how big will be determined by his performance this year. If he is in the same zipcode as the 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) he had in 2022-23, the sky is the limit. If he’s closer to the 80 points he had in each of the past two seasons, that changes the negotiations.

But that’s a good thing for both team and player.

“With Jason, I don’t blame him. He’s not a UFA, he’s an RFA. He wants to see what the market is,” Nill said. “Jason wants to bounce back from last year. He missed all of training camp and that was a tough start for him. He can now come in clear-minded and say I’m going to have my best year. That’s what I’m looking forward to. We’re going to get the best version of Jason Robertson and we’re going to benefit from that.”

Robertson had foot surgery last summer and that forced him to miss all of training camp. He started the season slow, and that played a part in him not being selected for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Robertson used that as motivation and went from 0.78 points per game before Jan. 1 to 1.13 in 2025. His 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 46 games to end the season put him seventh in league scoring during that time frame.

The lanky winger said he felt more like himself after shaking off the rust.

“It definitely felt better,” he said.

Robertson added that playing through the injury to get back up and running was a challenge.

“Reflecting on last year, when some people don’t play they say they feel lost. Well, I did play and I still felt lost,” he said. “I look back now and maybe I pushed myself to come back too soon. It’s a good lesson to learn. I always want to play in every game, so it was new to me to push myself through something. I learned a lot.”

Now, he said he’s trying to find that groove again. While he says he is aware of the contract and the fact that he could play for Team USA at the Winter Olympics, he thinks his best strategy is to focus on each day.

“I think just play the way I normally play,” he said when asked about how he would handle the pressure. “I actually think I can play better this year, that’s why I’m excited about having a healthy summer. We added one of the best players in the league [in Rantanen], that’s a bonus, new coaching staff, everything seems to be going in the right direction.”

And that’s why this contract negotiation will be a little different than some others around the league. In fact, the decision to keep the RFA status when you’re looking at the time frame for future contracts could be a good lesson.

“It doesn’t really bother me,” Robertson said. “I think what is important is this year for us as a team. The window is open, we’re trying to win it this year, and then we’ll look at it.”

And that's kind of where the focus should be for everyone.

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.