- Jason Robertson turned down an eight-year offer worth roughly $15 million per season from the Kraken
- A sign-and-trade was lined up that would have sent Seattle’s No. 7 overall pick to Dallas before it fell apart
- Read below for the Friedman and LeBrun reports and where the Stars turn next
Seattle took its biggest swing yet at a top-line winger. Jason Robertson said no.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Thursday that the Stars gave their pending restricted free agent permission to talk contract with the Kraken, and Seattle came in huge. The pitch was eight years at roughly $15 million per season. Robertson passed.
Here’s Friedman’s report:
That price would have made Robertson the second-highest-paid player in the NHL next season. It’s also more than double what any current Kraken player earns. Seattle has been chasing a star up front for a while, going back to its failed pitch to Artemi Panarin around the deadline.
A trade was already sitting there if Robertson signed. Friedman says Seattle’s own first-round pick, No. 7 overall, would have headed to Dallas, possibly with more attached. The winger’s decision killed it.
None of this means Dallas wants him gone. GM Jim Nill has called an extension a priority. The cap is the problem. The Stars hold a little over $9 million in space, not even enough to cover Robertson’s $9.3 million qualifying offer.
Dallas wants to land him near what Mikko Rantanen makes, around $12 million a year. Robertson is holding out for more. Friedman pegs the gap at about $2 million per season.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic added that the Stars are circling back to teams that already showed interest while keeping the extension talks alive:
The Stars have been fielding calls on Robertson for weeks, with the Senators among the teams kicking tires using their Brady Tkachuk trade return.
The 26-year-old just put up 45 goals and 96 points in 82 games, his fourth straight season north of 80 points. He’s a three-time 40-goal scorer the Stars grabbed 39th overall in 2017.
Trading a player like that is a tough sell in Dallas, but a $9 million cap crunch leaves Jim Nill with few clean options.
