Jason Robertson is now eligible for an offer sheet, and the Dallas Stars have a real problem on their hands.
Insider Marco D'Amico reported Friday that Robertson can be pitched an offer sheet as of right now.
But there's a catch. Robertson can still file for arbitration up until Sunday at 5 PM.
If he files, that move closes the offer sheet door completely. No rival team could touch him after that.
So the next 24 hours matter more than almost anything else on the Stars' offseason calendar.
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Robertson just wrapped a career year. He put up 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points across 82 games, adding a plus-22 rating and 9 game-winning goals.
He was even better in the postseason, scoring 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points in 6 playoff games.
Stars already carrying heavy money on the wing
Robertson currently sits on Dallas's books at a $7,750,000 cap hit. That number looks like a bargain next to what's coming.
Mikko Rantanen carries a $12,000,000 hit. Wyatt Johnston sits at $8,400,000. Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz are both north of $8,400,000 too.
Dallas finished the year 50-20-12 with 112 points, third overall in the league. That's not a roster GM Jim Nill can afford to gut over a arbitration miscalculation.
Robertson turning into an arbitration case would be a defensible outcome for a player of his production. But letting the offer sheet window stay open even for two more days feels like an unnecessary risk for a team this deep into contention.
Rival GMs read the same tweets everyone else does. And if Robertson doesn't file by Sunday afternoon, plenty of them will have a phone in hand.
Nothing happens until that deadline hits. Until then, this is just a countdown.
Should the Stars pressure Jason Robertson to file for arbitration before Sunday's deadline?
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