Are the Stars Getting Tired of Jason Robertson?
Despite being one of, if not the best, left wingers in the game today, Jason Robertson remains unsigned.
For the Dallas Stars, most people would say it’s a no-brainer to keep and extend him.
However, the business side of things and players naturally wanting to make more money tend to complicate things.
Especially when the Leo Carlsson offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, before re-signing with Anaheim, broke the internet.
Players are not just competitive on the ice. They compete for big contracts to compare to amongst themselves.
Plus, with a growing NHL and hence a growing cap, the deserve-o-meter is constantly being reset by the year.
Jason Wants More Than Mikko
Robertson saw Mikko Rantanen sign for 12 million annually in March last year. Seeing the salary cap going up, and his point production on ice, Robertson is demanding and believes he deserves to be making more money.
When one player signs a contract, dollar signs come up in another player’s eyes. Robertson obviously expects to be paid more than Rantanen. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be asking for more than what Moose is getting.
Nill Open to Trades
It has been publicly noted that the Stars are talking with other teams in dealing Robertson. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been talked about the most in potentially landing him via some kind of trade.
If the Stars are to trade Robertson to Pittsburgh, it certainly wouldn’t be for nothing. Pittsburgh would have to be ready to part ways with some of their assets. Pittsburgh right winger Egor Chinakhov has drawn many parallels to Robertson. Might be a bit faster of a skater too.
Locker Room Distractions
Seeing arguably your best player holding out, turning down major money from other teams, and now going into arbitration cannot be good for the culture of the team. If these issues aren’t resolved by training camp, it could lead to tensions in the locker room.
No team wants internal distractions when they’re getting ready to ramp up and grind out a six-month, 84-game schedule (regular season increased by two matches). The better players get along, and are more willing to be out there on the ice (from practice to game time) the better the team is gonna do.
Celebrini Willing to Take Less
Insult to injury for the Stars, and Stars fans. Macklin Celebrini was on record this past week for saying that he’s willing to take less money to play with the San Jose Sharks. His number one objective is to win the Stanley Cup. Celebrini understands that his making a few million less than he could gives San Jose more cap space to build a champion. Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon understood the same thing.
One can say Robertson is being greedy. It can also be said that he’s earned 14 million, or more than he’s demanding. There’s an argument for both sides. Stars fans can only hope for an agreement between the team and Robertson.
With the NHL growing, this is what we’re going to always see.
Players often try to get as big a contract as they can obtain with help from their agents.
Discover more from Dallas Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Stars