It’s time for some more NHL rumours. We’ve gotten past Friday’s trade deadline and now we’re dealing with the fallout from that somewhat uneventful day. There were some moves made but plenty of big names stayed put at the deadline. With the lack of moves on Friday, we now shift to what’s next for these players. Several of these players are unrestricted or restricted free agents at the end of the season and that means new deals for these players.

One team that has a massive RFA needing a new contract is the Dallas Stars. This edition of NHL rumours deals with a possible dollar amount for that important forward.

All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.

NHL Rumours
The Next Contract Dollar Value for a Key Dallas Stars RFA

Rumour: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman appeared on the FAN Hockey Show to discuss the aftermath of the trade deadline. The subject of Stars forward Jason Robertson and what his next contract may look like. Robertson is an RFA at the end of the season.

Analysis: The California native has already surpassed the 30-goal mark and is an important part of the Stars’ offence. Both sides face an uncertain future due to the number of big contracts on the roster already. Players like Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Roope Hintz will all carry massive salary cap hits next season.

Dallas general manager Jim Nill will already be up against the salary cap. However, the team also needs to find a solution for Robertson. The former Calder Trophy runner up is due a massive raise from his current $7.75 million cap hit. However, the money may not be there for a new contract to happen unless some changes happen.

There was some chatter that Robertson could have been moved in order to get some value. However, it was only a remote possibility of that happening at this time.

What It Means

Nill will have to clear out some space in order to keep Robertson in the fold. Both Harley and Robertson were eligible for new deals, but Nill decided to go with getting Harley’s contract taken care of first. Harley will be getting over $10 million starting next season.

Friedman mentioned that the contract number for Robertson will be $12 million. That’s a hefty number to add to Robertson’s current cap hit. It’ll take some heavy lifting and there will likely be some painful decisions to be made.

One of those decisions could be finding a way to shed Tyler Seguin‘s contract at the end of the season. The veteran forward holds a $9.85 million salary cap hit. Finding a way to shed that salary could be the key to keeping Robertson on the roster. This summer brings plenty of intrigue for some of the veterans on the roster. However, we’ll have to wait and see.

Freidman also mentions that no term was talked about. We’ve seen many younger players take middle-range deals to take advantage of the rising salary cap. There’s always the temptation to take the longer-range deal, but they may miss out on a scoring an even larger payday.

Main photo by: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images