The offseason raised uncertainty around Jason Robertson\u2019s future in Dallas, whether the player drafted by the Stars in 2017 will sign an extension this season and, if not, whether he will remain in a victory green sweater once he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2027.<\/p>\n
Many of those questions are still unanswered. But the Stars also hoped the uncertainty could be a positive in the short term.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old has a lot to play for this season \u2014 a new contract, a spot on Team USA\u2019s Olympic roster and redemption from an inconsistent 2024-25 season. Stars GM Jim Nill was open about hoping those motivators could bring the best out of Robertson. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe can now come in clear-minded and say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m going to have my best year,\u2019 and that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to as general manager,\u201d Nill said ahead of the season. \u201cWe\u2019re getting the best version of Jason Robertson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through 20 games, the Stars have gotten the absolute best out of their star goal scorer, and his latest stretch of games may be among the best he\u2019s ever had.<\/p>\n
Robertson leads the team in goals with 11, but eight of them have come in the last four games along with 11 total points. The forward was named the NHL\u2019s first star of the week Monday and didn\u2019t slow down in Tuesday\u2019s 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders, where he scored two goals and was in on what would\u2019ve been the game-tying third had he not been called for a questionable goaltender interference penalty.<\/p>\n
Robertson has two or more goals in three straight games. He scored a hat trick at home against the Flyers on Saturday, the sixth of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust give him the puck,\u201d Tyler Seguin said of his linemate. \u201cHe\u2019s shooting everything, and a lot\u2019s going in. We kind of expected it to come. Happy to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robertson also had high expectations for himself this season, knowing that even though he stayed consistent with 80 points for the last two years, he wasn\u2019t at his best. Surgery ahead of last season led to a slow start that kept him off Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He hit his stride midway through the season, but even then didn\u2019t feel fully himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people, when they don\u2019t play, they feel lost and dark,\u201d Robertson said ahead of this season. \u201cI was kind of the opposite. I was playing, and I was feeling kind of lost. Looking back now, maybe I pushed myself too hard to come back too soon. Nothing I can do about that now. It\u2019s a good lesson to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then suffered a knee injury in a meaningless Game 82, which sidelined him for the start of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Ahead of last March, Robertson\u2019s role on the team was clear \u2014 the elite scorer and top-liner that Dallas would always look to for clutch goals. But the trade for Mikko Rantanen brought that same skill set role and called into question whether the Stars would even be able to retain Robertson if he sought a deal close to Rantanen\u2019s $12 million AAV.<\/p>\n
The contract questions haven\u2019t been resolved, but Robertson has proved his role is as important as ever. With a heavily injured roster, the Stars have needed their best healthy players to step up. Robertson has relieved some of the pressure on rookies and inexperienced depth players to score.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I\u2019m shooting the puck a little bit more and being a little bit more assertive, but I\u2019ve had those chances all season,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cI\u2019m just glad they\u2019re going in. When I get one or two, confidence goes up. Shots get maybe a touch harder, more accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nill still has his work cut out for him to keep Robertson around long-term. But the forward is certainly making it difficult to let him walk in free agency \u2014 or for Team USA to let him go to Cabo on vacation this February.<\/p>\n
On X\/Twitter: @Lassimak<\/p>\n
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.<\/p>\n
Q: What is Jason Robertson’s current status with the Dallas Stars?<\/p>\n
A: Robertson is currently playing for the Dallas Stars, but his future with the team is uncertain due to contract questions.<\/p>\n
Q: What are Robertson’s motivations for this season?<\/p>\n
A: Robertson has a lot to play for this season, including a new contract, a spot on Team USA\u2019s Olympic roster, and redemption from an inconsistent 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n
Q: How has Robertson performed this season?<\/p>\n
A: Robertson has been performing exceptionally well, leading the team in goals with 11 and being named the NHL\u2019s first star of the week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uncertainty Surrounds Jason Robertson’s Future in Dallas The offseason raised uncertainty around Jason Robertson\u2019s future in Dallas, whether the player drafted by the Stars in 2017 will sign an extension this season and, if not, whether he will remain in a victory green sweater once he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Many of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17385","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/36STKS3BJZHXBHICUQOVPBGS7U.jpg?auth=30bd5eaba1f41aaf37ea2c40c22243ab875ed09d60f224f36e55142049e5e95d&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&focal=2108,140","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17388,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17385\/revisions\/17388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}