If you ever been to the Lone Star State, you are familiar with the phrase “everything’s bigger in Texas.” This saying rings true with NHL contracts as young future superstar winger Jason Robertston just signed a massive contract extension last week with the Dallas Stars. As the regular season rapidly approaches and games are now “for real,” both GM Jim Nill and new head coach Robert DeBoer are scrambling to find way to make the Stars a viable playoff contender.
Last season was a relative disappointment for the Dallas Stars as they barely squeaked into the playoffs on a wild card spot and exited in the first found. Compared to their 2020 Stanley Cup finals run, the Stars didn’t shine as brightly in the expanded 2021-22 and production levels from top veterans such as Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin reflected this big drop off (Seguin also fought injuries last year as well.) The Stars looked for a top-down reset and head coach Rick Bowness, for one reason or another, decided to leave Dallas after the end of 2021-22 and returned “home” to the Winnipeg Jets. For his part, Bowness looks to rescitate a moribund Jets organization and his emotional investment as both a former Jets player and coach may pay off and make the Central Division even more competitive in 2022-23.
The Stars turned to Peter DeBoer to take over the bench boss duties this year and immediately DeBoer has been looking at the line combinations to get the most out of the veteran Stars roster from an offensive standpoint. One of the key areas that seemed to be an Achilles heel for the Stars last year was with a relatively weak defense that left goalie Jake Oettinger exposed at times. The timely trade between the New York Rangers and the Stars for defenseman NIls Lundkvist seems to shore up the blue line and defense looks to be less of an issue this season – possibly.
Jason Robertson staying to bolster the Stars offense
One of the biggest questions the Dallas Stars faced during training camp and the preseason games was whether or not they could sign first line left winger Jason Robertson to a contract extension. For his part, Robertson missed most of training camp as a contract holdout which meant critical time working with teammates to build a sense of working chemistry under new head coach Robert DeBoer.
Ultimately, the Stars and Robertson came to an agreement the first week of October and while Robertson has a lot of makeup work to put in before the season starts, this contract extension is worth $31 million dollars over the next four years( with an AAV of $7.75 million dollars annually) and keep the rising star in Big D wearing the green, white and black sweater for the forseeable future. Robertson had great success last year on the first line with Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski; Robertson’s 41 goals and 38 assists for 79 total points speaks volumes to the 23 year old’s value to this organization.
Statistically speaking, Robertson led the Stars with 13 power play goals last season and his 41 goals put him in an elite company with Mike Modano and current teammates Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin as the only 40 plus goal scorers since the franchise moved to Dallas. GM JIm Nill summed up his impression of Robertson after getting the contract extension inked: “Jason is an integral part of the present and future of our team and we’re thrilled to have him for the next four years.”
Jason Robertson’s contract extension now means that Robert DeBoer can fill out his offensive depth chart with ink rather than penciling in a top-notch goal producer such as Roberston. As the preseason winds down and the “real” season gets ready to start, the Stars need to find a way to become instantly competitive in the Central Division as this division provided the most playoff teams last year including the Stars. With the Colorado Avalanche looming and highly talented teams in St. Louis, Minnesota and Nashville continually threatening for a playoff spot, signing Robertson to a long-term contract extension makes practical sense to keep an up-and-coming star in Dallas for years to come. For Jason Roberston, this extension also gives him the opportunity to have a true breakout season and become one of the very top forwards in the NHL and take his already successful career to a whole other level.
