Dallas Stars putting Jason Robertson on the trade block for a deal with Washington?

Sportsnet's Elliot Friedman said on 590 The Fan yesterday that Jason Robertson's name has indeed been floated in trade talks around the NHL, with several teams showing interest, though it's not a guarantee that [he] goes.

Jason Robertson is only 26 years-old, and has had a bit of a winding career since he entered the league in 2021. A 2017 first-rounder, Jason scored 45 points in 51 games with Dallas in a shortened season, finishing 2nd on the team in scoring, and 2nd in voting for the Calder Trophy, behind Krill Kaprizov.

Jason's productive point-per-game 1st-season earned him a 4-year contract worth $31M. He then erupted for a career-high 46 goals and 109 points in 82 games in 2022-23, good for 4th in MVP voting.

Yet, though he began his career as a legitimate 1st-line player, he has since dropped to a veritable 2nd, or 3rd line guy because of a decrease in scoring, though Jason still managed to put-up 80 points in each of the last two seasons.

According to PuckPedia, the Stars have under $5M in cap space with seven roster spots to fill. Robertson is under team control as an RFA with arbitration rights when his contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Yet, because his contract is back-heavy, Jason will be due a qualifying offer of $9.3M, much higher than his cap hit of $7.75M.

It's likely the Dallas Stars will entertain trading Robertson for a cost-effective player who can play a top-6 role directly, and use his cap hit savings to extend players like Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, and Mikael Granlund.

With Ovechkin's contract expiring next season, Washington will nned to replace his production and his spot on the wing. With Dallas willing to retain a year of Jason's salary, it may just be a good fit for the Capitals; he would also make the Caps younger, something GM Chris Patrick has said is a priority for the team this summer.