The Dallas Stars bowed out of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs in unceremonious fashion, falling to the Edmonton Oilers in a five-game series in the Western Conference finals.
The lopsided series loss could lead the front office to explore some significant changes during the offseason in order make the team more of a true contender next season. NHL insider Jeff Marek addressed the situation on a recent episode of The Sheet podcast, and he indicated that Dallas may well consider offloading star winger Jason Robertson.
Robertson will be entering the final year of his contract in 2025–26, after which he'll become an unrestricted free agent. Currently making $7.75 million per season, it's expected that the 25-year-old will be seeking a contract that pays him in the upper-echelon of NHL forwards. Having already doled out a lucrative long-term deal to Mikko Rantanen, the Stars may feel as if they'd be better off using the money they'd spend on Robertson to shore up other areas of the team.
Marek suggested that Dallas could be surprise suitors for Mitch Marner in free agency, saying that a Robertson trade would be one means of freeing up cap space to make a push for the Toronto Maple Leafs star.
"Dallas would be interesting and maybe one of the ways that you get there is if you end up dealing someone like Jason Robertson, who's a restricted free agent after one more year. ... Maybe that happens," said Marek. "I think Dallas is going to very much be ... 'We're out there shopping, and we're out there for big fish.'"
Robertson led the team in goals this past season with 35, and has been the team's leading goal scorer in three of the last four years. But if it means opening up a pathway to land Marner, it seems there is some belief that the Stars may be willing to part ways with the former second-round pick.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NHL Insider Says Stars Could Trade Top Forward to Pursue Mitch Marner in Offseason.