Jason Robertson trade rumors heat up as hockey insiders believe Dallas Stars have salary number they won’t budge on: ‘I don’t think the Stars want to drag this out’

Rumors surrounding superstar forward Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars have been swirling the entire 2025 NHL offseason. The elite, high-scoring winger is eligible for an extension this season after recording his third straight year of at least 80 points.

While extending a player with that level of scoring talent seems like a no-brainer proposition, the Stars are reportedly very hesitant about committing to the 25-year-old forward. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Stars general manager Jim Nill, winner of the last three General Manager of the Year Awards, has a salary red line he does not want to cross.

“I think this one purely comes down to the number,” Friedman said Sunday. “I think the Dallas Stars think very highly of Jason Robertson, especially as a person. I think Robertson thinks highly of the Stars. I just think it comes down to the number. Another thing to remember is that Dallas has some flexibility in the sense that, even though he’s got one year left under his contract, he’s not unrestricted for two years.

“There is a restricted arbitration year, so in theory, they could just sit there and say we could have him for two more years at this year’s number, $7.75 million, and next year’s arbitration number if they really wanted to do that. I just think it comes down to the number. I think Dallas has an area they don’t want to go over, and the question is, does Robertson want to go over that? I can’t imagine they want to go over Rantanen, which is $12 million, so we’ll see.”

According to PuckPedia, the Stars are currently $1.79 million over the league’s 2025-26 salary cap. Although the cap is expected to increase by another $8.5 million for the 2026-27 campaign, Dallas already has very expensive contract committments to six players, Mikko Rantanen ($12M), Tyler Seguin ($9.85M), Roope Hintz ($8.45M), Miro Heiskanen ($8.45M), Wyatt Johnston ($8.4M), and Jake Oettinger ($8.25M), through that year.

On top of that, both Robertson and elite defenseman Thomas Harley are set to become restricted free agents after next season. Per @AFPAnalytics, a Robertson extension is expected to cost approximately $11.54 million for eight years, while Harley is expected to earn somewhere close to $10.8 million during the same period.

The high-cost conundrum has left the Stars with only a few options, and Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek believes they will opt for a quick solution rather than allow Robertson to get anywhere near free agency.

“I really do suspect that something will happen with Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, and I wanna say it feels to me like it’s probably going to be sooner than later because I don’t think the Dallas Stars want to drag this thing out at all,” Marek said Monday on The Sheet. “I think that Jim Nill has a number in his mind and doesn’t want to go over that number whatsoever, and will not go over that number whatsoever. I do think that [number] is in the low double digits for Robertson.

“Term may be an issue as well. The Dallas Stars, as explained to me, don’t have much of a desire to go long-term, big money on players that aren’t the best skaters in the NHL. They feel that they’ve been burned by that before. We might find out quickly where the Dallas Stars are on Jason Robertson. Either we’ll have a contract extension announced or maybe a trade.”

Robertson should have a bevy of suitors if the Stars do opt for the trade route. Given their impending salary cap difficulties, the rumored return would likely lean more towards prospects and draft picks rather than current NHL players, whose salaries Dallas would need to absorb.

“Let’s not forget, too, that when you look for need and what the Dallas Stars want to do, they still want to shore up their blue line,” Marek added. “We will watch for the Dallas Stars and teams that may have excess defenders.”

Theoretically, the Washington Capitals could be one of the teams in the running for Robertson, although they haven’t been reported as interested. General manager Chris Patrick stated early in the offseason that the club was interested in adding a “high-skill player” and could take a “big hack” if the right name becomes available.

Additionally, Robertson fits nicely into the current youth movement of the Capitals, turning 26 later this month. The Caps also have a stacked prospect pool and their first-round pick in the next three drafts.