Jason Robertson and Quinn Hughes have become the central figures in two of the NHL’s biggest off-season storylines, for the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild. After those playoff exits that weren’t exactly inspiring, both teams are moving into summer with a bunch of major roster choices, plus salary-cap math that has to work out.
As per reports from ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News, Minnesota is going to have to sort out what to do with a few veteran free agents, while Dallas might be pushed toward cost-cutting via trades, to open up the flexibility needed for Robertson’s next contract extension.
The Wild kind of believed their Stanley Cup window was actually cracking open this season, you know behind the stars like Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber. Still, when they got bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche, it made it pretty clear that there are a few roster problems they should sort out heading into the offseason.
Ryan S. Clark said Minnesota has roughly $13.5 million in cap space right now, but they also have to deal with this long list of pending unrestricted free agents. Veterans Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko, Marcus Johansson, Nick Foligno and Michael McCarron all are going to need fresh deals if the Wild want to keep that depth and steady leadership.
Clark also mentioned that general manager Bill Guerin still needs another dependable top-six center. Minnesota had already shown interest in Vincent Trocheck before the trade deadline, but sources suggest the forward wants to stay put in the Eastern Conference. And to complicate things even more, there are ongoing reports tying Quinn Hughes to the New Jersey Devils, where brothers Jack and Luke are already in the mix.
Dallas Stars Could Trade Players To Finalize Jason Robertson Deal
In Dallas, the Stars GM Jim Nill is under pressure, like real pressure to squeeze out extra cap space before Robertson’s next contract, and all of this is kind of ahead of schedule. Lia Assimakopoulos from The Dallas Morning News says the Stars currently have about $11 million in cap space, and that number might not be enough in order to sign Robertson while also actually finishing the rest of the roster.
Robertson is reportedly one year away from unrestricted free agency eligibility, so naturally, he could start looking for a long-term arrangement, sort of in the lane of Mikko Rantanen’s newest deal, a contract paying $12 million per season. Assimakopoulos also pointed to Radek Faksa, Sam Steel, Ilya Lyubushkin and Tyler Myers as potential trade targets, if Dallas needs that financial flexibility before getting Robertson’s extension fully locked in.
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