Robertson is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1. Jerome Miron / Imagn ImagesJune 25, 2026 11:00 pm EDT Updated 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.As first reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Kraken were given permission on Thursday to negotiate with Robertson in a bid to complete a trade with Dallas, league sources confirm, 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 Robertson. 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, but at the same time, according to league sources, are keeping the lines of communication open with Robertson’s camp, led by agent Andy Scott, in an effort perhaps to somehow bridge the gap in talks.There’s been a sizeable gap in talks, with Robertson’s ask beyond what the team-high $12 million a year Mikko Rantanen makes. I don’t think the Stars 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.While there’s no real deadline to all this, Robertson is an RFA and not a UFA after all, the specter of an offer sheet from whichever team may act as a pressure point in terms of deciding which course of action for Dallas before Wednesday’s opening of free agency. Could there really, really be an offer sheet? Here’s the argument against an offer sheet: 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 as opposed to an offer sheet makes more sense.Unless it’s a trade that requires involving a first-round pick in Friday’s NHL Draft in Buffalo, it’s not necessarily a trade that has to happen immediately; it could drag on all summer.
