The Dallas Stars turned their attention to Jason Robertson after signing Thomas Harley to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $10.587 million per season. Stars general manager Jim Neal knows he has money to play with because the salary cap is set to rise to $104 million next season and $113 million the season after that.
Neal wants to keep Robertson and sees him as part of Dallas’ future. However, he will be an RFA with arbitration rights. We all know how arbitrator negotiations work. The Dallas Stars don’t want things to come to that.
NHL Rumors: Stars GM Jim Neal wants to retain Jason Robertson long-term
However, as discussed in Issue 4’s table between Dave Paniotta and Jeff Marek, will Jason Robertson’s next AAV be lower than Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million (which is the baseline) since the Stars use Rantanen as the top of their internal salary cap?
Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Jeff Marek: “One of the complicating factors for Dallas is players are arbitration-eligible, and you know what typically happens with arbitration? I mean, look, players can really get windfalls in arbitration, which is why I don’t know that the Dallas Stars want to go that far because their contract with Mikko Rantanen appears to have a $12 million cap hit. Look, Jason Robertson could ring our arbitration bell. Period.”
How much of a relief is Rantanen’s contract for Robertson? He will be 27 when this contract begins. I know Dallas isn’t excited about players on long-term deals, long-term deals for players in their 20s, but RFA’s hammer status and Rantanen’s internal cap? “
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Dave Pagnotta: “Rantanen has a greater impact, or that contract has a greater impact on these types of discussions as it relates to Robertson, sorry, for a number of reasons. One, that contract was signed more recently. Obviously, it was done last year, and that’s an understanding of how salary cap trends are going.
But I think the Rantanen deal had a bigger impact on the negotiations, in terms of volume stabilization and things like that, and that was also complicated in a way because it wasn’t done yet. Because how many guys are going to make eight-figure moves on the same roster, even with the cap rising and even with more money to spend?
Owner Tom Gaglardi isn’t afraid to shell out the cash. But how many people are there? You must be responsible. How many people are going to reach eight figures, how many people are going to reach eight figures in the near future, how high eight figures? This is a factor for both men as this is likely and likely to be an eight-figure AAV deal.
As of now, the Stars have $28 million in cap space next year, and based on projected numbers, that’s still a lot of room for most players, not just these two. “
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However, it’s not just about the Rantanen trade now. That’s Martin Necas’ contract: $11.5 million per season over eight years. Kyle Connor’s contract with Winnipeg is Rantanen’s eight-year deal at $12 million per season. Utah Mammoths’ Logan Cooley just earned $10.5 million per season on an eight-year entry-level contract.
The Stars want to keep Jason Robertson. That depends not only on what Mikko Rantanen gets, but also on what other contracts are signed between now and Robertson signing.
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