PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Over the past week, multiple NHL teams have shaken the hockey world with deals involving both star players and ultra-valuable draft picks.
Major pieces throughout the league, like Darren Raddysh, Brady Tkachuk, and Alex Tuch, among others, have suddenly found themselves in new places just days before the 2026 NHL Draft begins this Saturday. And with free agency right around the corner on July 1st, there will certainly be more massive moves made as the offseason rolls on.
Could the Pittsburgh Penguins make one to acquire star winger Jason Robertson from the Dallas Stars? It’s not impossible.
Robertson is in an interesting situation right now. The 26-year-old forward is coming off the final season of a four-year, $31 million contract. He played all 82 of the Stars’ regular-season contests in 2025-26 and racked up 96 points. Robertson also tacked on eight more in Dallas’ first-round series against the Minnesota Wild.
Still a restricted free agent, Dallas has until free agency begins to come to an agreement with Robertson on a new contract. And it hasn’t been going well so far.
According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, an NHL source said Dallas offered Robertson a contract with an AAV of $12 million, but he turned it down. Other reports have said he could be looking for up to $14 million per year. That wouldn’t be much of a problem for Pittsburgh, which currently boasts plenty of cap space to work with.
However, the Penguins aren’t the only team heavily interested in acquiring Robertson. The Ottawa Senators, fresh off dealing away captain Brady Tkachuk (and his cap hit) in exchange for a boatload of draft picks, have also emerged as a potential suitor.
The Pens possess multiple assets the Stars could be interested in to flip a player like Robertson. If Dallas is looking for a top-scorer in return, perhaps Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust could be offered up, though Pittsburgh isn’t too keen on the idea of giving up either of the wingers right now, according to Penguins Insider Johe Yohe from The Athletic.
Pittsburgh could also dig into its deep supply of draft picks in the trade or even offer up one of its best young players in forward Ben Kindel. Any of these assets would be a heavy price to pay for General Manager Kyle Dubas, but someone as skilled as Robertson is most certainly worth it.
