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Jason Robertson of the Stars

General manager Jim Nill says that he wants star winger Jason Robertson to be on the Dallas Stars for the rest of his NHL career.

The Stars had a terrific regular season with 112 points, finishing second in the Central Division to the stacked Colorado Avalanche. Taking on fellow division rivals in the Minnesota Wild in the playoffs and advancing to the next round, the Stars were favored to win their first-round matchup. But the Wild outplayed the Stars, and they ended up losing the series 4-2. They lost despite Robertson’s strong play, as he scored 5 goals and 8 points in 6 games.

Stars Want Jason Robertson Back

Robertson was drafted by the Stars in the second round, with the 39th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 26-year-old California native made his debut for the team in the 2019-20 season, and he has been a staple of the Stars’ lineup ever since.

In 456 games played, Robertson has scored 213 goals and 490 points, while transforming into one of the NHL’s elite wingers. He just finished playing on the last year of his contract at $7.75 million, and he has one more year left of RFA eligibility for Dallas before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, where he is expected to command a monster free-agent deal.

However, the Stars are hoping that Robertson doesn’t get a chance to test free agency, as GM Nill told reporters at Thursday’s end-of-season media availability that the Stars want to sign Robertson to a long-term deal and keep him in Dallas for the rest of his career.

“That’s our focus is to get him signed. He’s a big part of our team, and we’ve drafted and developed him, and we think he’ll be a Dallas Star for the rest of his career,” Nill said, while praising the young sniper (via Dallas Morning News).

“I thought he played as well (this year) as he has in his career. I thought his skating got better and better, and I thought his physicality got better. He started to manage the physical parts of the game, in corners and managing in front of the net. He did a great job.”

Robertson Eligible for Offer Sheet

Robertson has one more year left of team control if the Stars offer him a $9.3 million qualifying offer, as they will do. After that, Robertson will have the chance to hear out other teams as a restricted free agent and sign an offer sheet, though the Stars would be able to match any offer he gets.

That being said, NHL players rarely sign offer sheets, as the signing team has to give up several premium draft picks if they sign an RFA. With Robertson hitting unrestricted free agency in one season from now, teams likely wouldn’t want to pay up multiple draft picks when they could try to sign him a year from now next summer.

But that will all be a moot point if the Stars sign Robertson to a long-term deal, as they want to, and he ends up being a Star for life. Nill is going to try, and Stars fans are hoping their GM can get the job done and keep Robertson in Dallas for life.