Robertson is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1. Jerome Miron / Imagn Images
June 25, 2026 Updated 11:42 pm EDT
The Dallas Stars are now circling back to other teams that have shown interest in Jason Robertson, after a sign-and-trade with the Seattle Kraken fell through, league sources told The Athletic. The sources were granted anonymity to speak about a negotiation that’s not public.
As first reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Kraken were given permission Thursday to negotiate with Robertson in a bid to complete a trade with Dallas, league sources confirmed, but Robertson turned down an eight-year contract in the “$15 million range,” as per a league source with knowledge of the offer.
As I reported on TSN’s Insider Trading earlier Thursday, the Kraken were a team to watch on Robertson; they’re big-game hunting and had shown strong interest in him. The Kraken will now set their sights elsewhere, intent on continuing to be aggressive in their bid to add.
The Stars are now talking again to other teams that had called with trade interest in Robertson. According to league sources, however, they are keeping the lines of communication open with Robertson’s camp, led by agent Andy Scott, in an effort to perhaps bridge the gap in negotiations.
There has been a sizeable gap in talks, with Robertson’s ask beyond the team-high $12 million a year Mikko Rantanen makes. The Stars probably do not want to stray too far from Rantanen’s salary.
My understanding is that Chicago is among several teams that have also inquired about Robertson, doing its due diligence at the very least.
There’s no real deadline to all this, but Robertson is a restricted free agent after all. The specter of an offer sheet from whichever team may act as a pressure point in terms of deciding the best course of action for Dallas before Wednesday’s opening of free agency. Could there really be an offer sheet? Here’s the argument against one: It would be a maximum seven-year deal; teams can’t do eight years. The salary ask would most likely be $15 million-plus a year, especially on a seven-year deal. And the offer-sheet compensation to Dallas in that scenario would be four first-round picks. I mean, you never know. He’s a special player. But I would imagine trading for him makes more sense than an offer sheet.
Unless it’s a trade that requires involving a first-round pick in Friday’s NHL Draft in Buffalo, N.Y., it doesn’t necessarily have to happen immediately; it could drag on all summer.
Jun 26, 2026
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