- Jason Robertson has indicated he will file for arbitration before Sunday’s deadline
- The move takes an offer sheet off the table and points him toward free agency in 2027
- Read below for what it means for Dallas and the stalled extension talks
Jason Robertson just changed the math on his own future.
The Dallas Stars winger has indicated he will file for arbitration ahead of Sunday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported. Filing takes an offer sheet off the table and sets Robertson on a path that could end with him reaching unrestricted free agency in 2027.
Here is Friedman breaking it:
The mechanics matter here. If Robertson and the Stars can’t agree on a new deal, the case goes in front of an arbitrator. A one-year award would eat up the final season of team control Dallas has left, and Robertson would walk to free agency next summer with nothing coming back the other way.
That’s the outcome the Stars have spent months trying to dodge. GM Jim Nill keeps saying re-signing Robertson is his top priority, but getting it done has been another story.
It’s not hard to see where the gap is. Robertson scored 45 goals and 96 points last season, the third time he’s cleared 40. His camp, led by Andy Scott at Octagon, can point straight at teammate Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million cap hit as a floor. Then Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson signed an $18 million offer sheet from Philadelphia, and $12 million started to look like a bargain.
Watch what Dallas is trying to pay for:
The money is the problem. PuckPedia has the Stars sitting under $10 million in cap space, enough to swallow an arbitration award but nowhere near enough to fit a long-term extension without more moves.
Dallas has already tested the trade market. The Stars lined up a sign-and-trade with Seattle in late June, but Robertson killed it by turning down the Kraken’s $15 million offer.
Now the clock runs out today. File, and Robertson buys himself one more year of leverage in Dallas.
