Thursday Links: Jason Robertson’s Next Contract

What do Robo and Connor McDavid have in common? Matthew DeFranks examines the case. Plus, the Blackhawks’ GM search continues, the Steelheads’ milestone night, and more.

Your daily Jason Robertson appreciation just got bigger, and possibly a little scarier. With his next contract approaching, the Dallas Stars will have a lot to think about.

Robo is not only one of the most impactful players on the team, but one of the most powerful offensive forces in the NHL. How powerful, you say…? The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks has done the sums, and he finds a near-comparable for Robo that may surprise you, or not:

…Since [Connor] McDavid signed his second contract in July 2017, no NHL player has had a more productive start to their career than Robertson has (on a points per game basis).

Entering Friday’s game against Washington, Robertson has 85 points in 86 games, and his 0.988 points per game are better than Auston Matthews (0.978), Mitch Marner (0.929), Elias Pettersson (0.927) and Kirill Kaprizov (0.927) when they signed their second deals. He only trails McDavid’s 1.165.

That means one thing for Robertson: he’s going to get massively paid this summer.

But wait a minute: why a big payday now instead of a nice raise with a bridge deal and more to come later? DeFranks thought of that:

One caveat with Robertson is that he would have played about 120 regular-season games when his entry-level contract expires, and currently no playoff games. Every other player listed played more games than Robertson, except for Kaprizov. There is also not a ton of comparable contracts for Robertson during the flat-cap environment, since there simply aren’t a lot of comparables for Robertson, period.

Robertson’s production this season (16 goals and 23 assists in 32 games) makes it pretty clear which direction are the better comps for him, and it’s the more expensive route for Dallas.

Matt has more. [SportsDayDFW]

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Stars Stuff

New this morning: Saad Yousuf and Corey Pronman explore potential trade packages for John Klingberg, and, unsurprisingly, none of them make much sense for the Stars.

Around The Leagues

#Murder Was The Case

• Dylan Strome netted his first NHL hat trick as the Chicago Blackhawks secured an 8-5 win over the Detroit Red Wings. [Second City Hockey]
• And the Colorado Avalanche extended their home winning streak to 17 games with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins. [Mile High Hockey]

The Vancouver Canucks are making history all the time now, aren’t they? Say hello to Patrik Allvin, the NHL’s first Swedish GM, and take a look at the road ahead. [The Athletic]

The Blackhawks are still looking for their next GM, but they’ve set themselves a trade-deadline deadline.

You might have seen this one coming, especially since Drake Batherson will now miss NHL All-Star Weekend due to an injury sustained on this play.

On a more positive note, The Hockey News observed #BellLetsTalk Day by sharing this memorable quote from Robin Lehner.

Meanwhile, JT Brown reminds that mental health issues are often exacerbated by the challenges facing communities of color.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park – And Beautiful Boise

The Texas Stars came home happy last night after a big road win against the Chicago Wolves.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Steelheads kicked off a home stand with a big win of their own over the Kansas City Mavericks – featuring eleven (11) different point scorers.

Finally

Pour one out for Rhett Gardner, who returned to the T-Stars from the taxi squad and promptly scored a game-winner. Cheers!