The Minnesota Wild haven't had the start to the offseason that they had anticipated. They were expected to bring in a top line center by this point. They missed out on a Brady Tkachuk trade, and Dylan Larkin still remains with the Detroit Red Wings, with no sign of a trade coming any time soon. So, the Wild pivoted, bringing in forward Blake Coleman and defenseman Olli Maata in a trade with the Calgary Flames.
While the Wild's offseason hasn't been thrilling, the Dallas Stars haven't fared any better. The Stars tried to execute a trade for Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski that would have centered around Thomas Harley. But Werenski vetoed the trade, and is set to play for Columbus next season. Then, there's the Jason Robertson saga, which doesn't appear to be ending any time soon. Both sides aren't close to an agreement on a contract extension, and a trade attempt from the Seattle Kraken fell through. Now, Robertson is set for arbitration, meaning he'd be eligible for a one-year deal before hitting free agency next summer. But there is one team that is worth keeping an eye on that can pry Robertson away from the Stars and make the Wild's rivals weaker.
The Athletic's Josh Yohe reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins are "still very much open to acquiring Robertson." Additionally, Yohe reports that the Penguins believe that Robertson would accept a trade to Pittsburgh. But, that all depends on when the Stars begin actively and genuinely having talks with interested teams.
Penguins believe they can pry Jason Robertson away from Stars, Central Division
"Sources within the Penguins organization, who, as with all of the sources in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private information, believe [Kyle] Dallas is holding out hope of signing Robertson, a restricted free agent, to a long-term deal," writes Yohe. "I sense that the Penguins wanted to engage the Stars on Robertson, but Stars GM Jim Nill never let talks get serious. Not yet, anyway."
Trading Robertson will make the Stars a weaker team overall and getting him out of the division and conference would be another plus. The thing is, it's easier said than done.
Yohe points out that Robertson does hold the cards, as he rejected a trade to Seattle and an eight year, $15 million per year contract extension from the Kraken. So, all it really takes is for Robertson to let the Stars know what team he would be willing to play for. But based on what the Stars are doing, which is holding out hope that the two sides can reach some sort of agreement, that may not happen. Unless things drastically change once arbitration hearings across the league take place between July 20 and Aug. 1.
The Penguins do have the assets to make a trade for a young top player like Robertson. Pittsburgh has four first round picks and eight second round picks over the next four years. That's plenty for the Penguins to choose from to send over an offer to the Stars.
Let's not forget that the Penguins also traded for Robertson's younger brother Nicholas this offseason in a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, Jason teaming up with Nicholas could entice him further to accept a trade to Pittsburgh.
Make no mistake about it, if the Stars trade away Robertson, that would make them a worse team. That is beneficial for the Wild, who are trying to close the gap on the Colorado Avalanche, who they lost to in five games in the second round. The Wild have plenty of top players on the roster, such as Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber. However, they are missing that No. 1 center to really help them out in the middle of the ice. Maybe that's Larkin when both the Red Wings and player decide to seriously move forward with a trade.
The Wild will certainly hope that the Stars make their team weaker on paper with Robertson off of it and playing elsewhere.
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