Jason Robertson skates for the Dallas Stars in 2026-27 season© Getty via AFP
The Dallas Stars want to keep Jason Robertson. GM Jim Nill confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the organisation plans to begin extension talks in December, ahead of when the 27-year-old forward becomes eligible to sign on January 1. Robertson has nine goals and 19 points through 17 games this season. But LeBrun, who broke the story, is sceptical that any deal gets done quickly. And that uncertainty alone creates real problems for a franchise that cannot afford to lose him for nothing.
Robertson’s Camp May Not Rush Into Anything
Nill laid out his side clearly enough. “We’ll start sometime in December,” he told LeBrun. “We’ll touch base, see where we’re at and hopefully get something done. That’s the plan right now.”
That sounds like a franchise that knows what it wants. The issue is what Robertson wants. LeBrun noted that Robertson’s camp may not feel any urgency to sign early. “I’m not convinced Robertson, who has nine goals and 19 points in 17 games, will want to extend as early as January,” LeBrun wrote. “I have a feeling his camp will want to wait until after the season to have a better idea of the marketplace.”
That is the scenario Dallas is quietly dreading. Robertson is currently on a one-year $12 million deal the Stars handed him last summer to avoid a messy RFA holdout. That was already a temporary fix. If talks stall through spring and Robertson decides to test the open market on July 1, the Stars walk away with nothing. No pick, no return, no compensation. Just a hole in the lineup.
Dallas Has a Fallback, But It Is Not a Perfect One
LeBrun did offer some reassurance for Stars fans. If Robertson leaves, the cap space tied to him does not disappear. Dallas would redirect it toward another top-end player. And the Stars remain a preferred destination for high-profile free agents, year after year.
One potential name in that scenario is Nikita Kucherov, whose name has already surfaced in trade speculation. Whether the math works for both sides is a separate question entirely.
The Stars could also hold their cap space and position themselves for the 2028 market if next summer’s free agent pool does not deliver anything meaningful.
None of that makes losing Robertson painless. He is their best forward, and replacements at that level are never guaranteed. December will tell Dallas a lot about where this is actually headed.
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