{"id":400220,"date":"2026-01-10T21:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/400220\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T21:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:05:17","slug":"maple-leafs-linked-to-potential-jason-robertson-trade-but-one-obstacle-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/400220\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs Linked to Potential Jason Robertson Trade \u2014 But One Obstacle Remains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Robertson\u2019s future in Dallas is far from guaranteed, with the Stars forward about to become an unrestricted free agent and his name nearing a return to the NHL<\/a> rumor mill.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Stars<\/a> winger is reportedly seeking over $12 million annually on his next contract, a figure the organization may be unwilling to pay.<\/p>\n

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Sportsnet\u2019s Nick Kypreos<\/a> reported that the contract standoff could open the door for a major deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne idea floating around the league is a bigger swing involving Dallas \u2014 specifically Jason Robertson,\u201d Kypreos wrote. \u201cContract talks there haven\u2019t been smooth, where Robertson is believed to be looking for north of $12 million a year, more than what Mikko Rantanen got. That\u2019s not an easy number for the Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robertson, 26, is tied for the lead among American-born players in points this season and is coming off back-to-back 80-point campaigns and a career-best 109-point season in 2022-23. He has 52 points through 44 games this season.<\/p>\n

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According to Kypreos, the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> have the cap structure to absorb a deal of that size. Even then, Kypreos noted the biggest obstacle in the Leafs’ path to acquiring Robertson.<\/p>\n

\u201cToronto could pay it, but the question is the cost of acquisition,\u201d Kypreos wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) warms up before a game.Robert Edwards-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Kypreos suggested a trade package would likely start with Leafs prospects Easton Cowan and Ben Danford, among other assets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of move that would actually change the Leafs\u2019 makeup,\u201d Kypreos said. \u201cWhether they have the stomach for it is another matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Maple Leafs (21-15-7) are projected<\/a> to have more than $20 million in cap space next summer and sit fifth in the Atlantic Division after struggling for most of the first half of the season.<\/p>\n

Related: Golden Knights Share Carter Hart Injury Update After Blue Jackets Game<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Stars’ Jason Robertson Addresses USA Snub for 2026 Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jan 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the NHL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jason Robertson\u2019s future in Dallas is far from guaranteed, with the Stars forward about to become an unrestricted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5117],"tags":[196,147,5278,8450,5,1800,270,4,548,2783,1757,197,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-400220","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-stars","10":"tag-dallasstars","11":"tag-easton-cowan","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-jason-robertson","14":"tag-mikko-rantanen","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-nhl-trade-deadline","17":"tag-nick-kypreos","18":"tag-sportsnet","19":"tag-stars","20":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115872840032812363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}