The Dallas Stars have finally come to an agreement with RFA forward Jason Robertson, signing him to a one-year $12MM deal, the team announced.
“Jason has been a cornerstone of our franchise since he was drafted in 2017,” said Stars General Manager Jim Nill. “A dynamic and skilled player, he has been one of the league’s top offensive threats since making his NHL debut. We’re excited for what this season will bring for both Jason and the team as we continue our push to bring a championship to Dallas.”
The signing comes just days before Robertson’s arbitration hearing, which had been scheduled for July 25th. He filed for arbitration on July 5th, a procedural step that also made him ineligible for an offer sheet from another club, and the sides used the additional runway to get a deal done rather than let a hearing play out.
The 26-year-old was coming off a career year, posting 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points in 82 games in 2025-26, earning First-Team All-NHL honors for the second time in his career (he also made the team in 2023). Reports had Robertson seeking a long-term deal in the $14MM range, more in line with the AAV Leon Draisaitl signed for in Edmonton, while the Stars had previously floated an eight-year offer worth roughly $96MM (a $12MM AAV, in the neighborhood of what Mikko Rantanen carries) that Robertson turned down.
The one-year bridge splits the difference for now, giving Robertson the higher AAV he was pushing for without locking him into a long-term number below his ask.
Per Stars beat writer Sam Nestler, Robertson will be eligible to sign an extension on or after January 1st and is set to become a UFA after next season. Because of where he sits in his career, Dallas holds an edge in those extension talks; the Stars could sign him to a seven-year extension, while any other club could only offer him six.
The short-term deal complicates an already tight cap picture in Dallas. Per PuckPedia, the Stars now project $1.36MM over the cap with 22 players on the active roster (13F/7D/2G) plus Tyler Seguin on IR. To be compliant for the opening roster submission, they’ll need to option or waive at least two players; Arttu Hyry is waiver-exempt, while Oskar Back, Colin Blackwell, and Kyle Capobianco are among the waiver-eligible names who could be sent down to get the books in order.
Robertson’s now-expired deal was a four-year, $31MM extension signed in 2022 that carried a $7.75MM cap hit, a number that looked like a bargain by the end of it given his 2025-26 output.
Stepping back, this reads like a deal that lets both sides avoid the arbitration room and buy some time before tackling the bigger, long-term negotiation that’s still to come. For the 2026-27 season alone, $12MM looks like a pretty good number for Dallas, especially set against what other players have signed for