One of 2021-22's biggest breakout seasons belonged to Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson. The 23-year-old from Arcadia, California, exploded for 41 goals and 79 points and even earned some MVP votes for his efforts in helping the Stars get to the postseason.
Conveniently enough for him, that monster season occurred in the final year of his entry-level contract, and although the Stars' season begins on Oct. 13, Robertson is still unsigned.
The flow of information about progress has slowed down. Elliotte Friedman shared on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that frustration has set in even though things are close.
The Stars would be foolish to play too much hardball with Robertson, and other teams around the NHL would be all too eager to find a way to take him off their hands. He’s a budding star and is poised to be Dallas’ best scorer for years to come…if he stays there.
Ah yes, every Stars fan's least favorite word there is “if,” and let’s be real: It’s awfully fun to think about other teams that make a ton of sense for Robertson.
“But Joe, every team would make sense!”
That’s a fair statement to make, but there are others who stand out more or who have attempted to make splashes over the summer only to be runners-up in the race to acquire talent. We brainstormed and picked through rosters to come up with a list of five teams that make a ton of sense for the league’s latest big-time net-filler.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils are on the verge of becoming a dangerous and fun team in the Eastern Conference.
Over the summer, they made their intentions to make a splash clear when they tried to sign Johnny Gaudreau, as well as acquire Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames. Teams don’t try to make a move like that unless they feel confident with where they’re at. That’s what makes the Devils prime contenders to take a run at Jason Robertson.
Consider what New Jersey has going for it right now. Jack Hughes is on the verge of breaking out in a monster way (he had 56 points with 26 goals in 49 games last season). Nico Hischier, when healthy, is a dynamite two-way forward. Jesper Bratt and Yegor Sharangovich have grown into superb players. They’ve got Alexander Holtz, Jesper Boqvist, and Fabian Zetterlund poised to make the leap. But aside from Hughes and Hischier, those are all superb support players and not ready-made star scorers like Robertson.
To add Robertson to the Devils would assuredly mean sacrificing a couple of the players listed above and more on top of paying Robertson whatever he would like to become New Jersey’s newest big-time goal scorer of the future. A forward trio of Hughes, Hischier and Robertson would give the Devils a top-three group you could put up against almost anyone else in the league and come away on top.
We know these Devils aren’t your father’s drag-you-to-the-depths-of-neutral-zone-trap-hell Devils of the 1990s, and coming out of the blue to make a move for Robertson would force them into the conversation of Eastern Conference contenders.