Wednesday Links: Robertson’s Next Deal

Robertson is going to cash in big, but the big questions are “How much?” and “How long?” Plus, a chat with Tom Gaglardi, Matthew Tkachuk trade rumors, and more.

Gone are the days of the Dallas Stars getting a 40-goal scorer on a cheap ELC — Jason Robertson is an RFA, and he is about to cash in big on his first “real” contract.

Thankfully for the Stars, even if they backup the truck for Robertson, odds are they’ll still come out ahead:

Players, especially those on their second contracts, usually don’t actually earn up to their market value. But it shows the room Dallas does have to sign Robertson for a contract with a greater cap hit than the Evolving-Hockey projection and still be cost-effective given his ceiling… If the star winger were to sign a contract [in that range], it would stack up to deals signed by William Nylander, Johnny Gaudreau, and David Pastrnak — all players of a similar caliber, at similar points in their careers.

Of course, Robertson’s camp knows this, hence why they might push for a bridge deal. That would allow him to cash in for even more money a few years down the line in a post-flat cap world (with possibly some hardware under his belt).

That being said, there are reasons as to why Robertson might want a ong term deal, as there are for Dallas wanting a bridge:

Perhaps a question the Stars need to consider, one they should ask internally and be open to an honest answer, is when they truly want to aim for contention. If the answer is sooner than later, they could pursue a bridge deal with Robertson. They’d be risking some dark times at the end of the long-term deal Robertson would get after this bridge deal but would have more money to work with in the present.

You can read more from Saad Yousuf and Shayna Goldman here.

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Stars Stories

Also from Saad, a chat with Stars’ owner Tom Gaglardi about the new coaching staff and state of the franchise:

With prospect development camp in the books, have the Stars found a potential hidden gem in invitee Logan Morrison?

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Around the League

Matthew Tkachuk trade rumors are abound, and don’t be surprised if it actually happens…

If he does end up moving, is it possible that he ends up in Dallas?

Suffice to say, there is no status quo for the Colorado Avalanche:

Down Goes Brown shares the results from this year’s prediction contest, and the results are… well…

In rather stunning news, broadcaster Eddie Olczyk will no longer be covering Chicago Blackhawks games, instead joining the Seattle Kraken while continuing to cover national games:

Finally, the latest in the Hockey Canada scandal is the discovery of a “slush fund” designed to pay out settlements for sexual harassment cases: