Getty

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to reload during the upcoming offseason. Despite recently getting bounced out of the Stanley Cup playoffs early and having an aging squad, Pittsburgh is still in solid shape going forward. Superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin averaged more than a point per game in 2025-26 and will return for the upcoming season.

Along with keeping their future Hall of Famers, the Penguins also have plenty of money to spend this summer. According to Puckpedia.com, Pittsburgh has $37 million in projected cap space heading towards 2026-27. Not only do they have funds, but the roster only has a few holes to fill. Because of this, top exec Kyle Dubas can look to add a superstar to the roster.

Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz has the perfect player in mind for the Penguins: Jason Robertson. The Dallas Stars forward is set to be a restricted free agent and could very well be dealt this summer. Dallas would certainly love to re-sign their superstar, but they do not have the money to make it work right now. Robertson is likely looking for at least $12 million AAV in his next deal.

To make a deal work in Dallas, the Stars would prefer to offload other players. Potentially trading away Ilya Lyubushkin and Mavrik Bourque could free up the necessary funds for Robertson. Nevertheless, this scenario may very well not happen. The Penguins will hope not, and that they can capitalize on the situation by acquiring the star winger.

Pittsburgh Penguins Have Been Linked to Jason Robertson Before

GettyJason Robertson has named former Penguins legend Jaromir Jagr as one of his favorite players.

This is not the first time that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been linked with Robertson. It was reported in January that Dubas “absolutely loves” Robertson and wants to take a big swing at striking a deal with Dallas. At the time, it was thought that Pittsburgh stockpiled draft picks to help facilitate such a blockbuster trade. The Penguins have 10 selections in the first two rounds over the next three years.

Dallas, however, is not likely to swap Robertson for draft picks alone. Instead, the Stars seemingly prefer to center a deal for the superstar around an established NHL player. According to Gretz, the Penguins may have to include veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson in the trade. Quality draft picks would still be needed to sweeten the deal.

Karlsson recorded 66 points in 75 games with Pittsburgh during the 2025-26 season. Dallas could be interested in the three-time Norris Trophy winner to strengthen their right side of defense behind Miro Heiskanen. The Stars only had one defenseman (Heiskanen) who racked up more than 36 points on the campaign.

Pittsburgh Needs a New Superstar to Take Over

Although Crosby and Malkin are returning for the 2026-27 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins need to be looking towards the future. The aging superstars are not going to be around forever. Dubas should, and likely is, eyeing a forward like Robertson to help take over the team in the years to come.

With the 2026 NHL free agent class looking thin, Pittsburgh will have to make a major trade to acquire a real star. Dallas will want to do whatever it takes to keep Robertson, but it may not work out. Potentially landing the 45-goal scorer would essentially be the best-case scenario for the Penguins.