Is Jason Robertson only realistic option worth Rangers trading No. 5 pick?
Let’s start here when it comes to the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. We have no idea whether the respective GMs — Chris Drury and Jim Nill — have even discussed Fourth of July plans, much less a Jason Robertson trade.
The market for the three-time 40-goal scorer is heating up.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, citing multiple unidentified sources, reported Thursday evening that the Seattle Kraken were given permission by Dallas to talk to Robertson and offered him approximately $15 million per year on a eight-year deal — but he turned it down. Had Robertson agreed to join the Kraken, Seattle’s offer to the Stars certainly would have started with the No. 7 pick.
That story came hours after reports that Robertson had turned down an eight-year, $96 million extension offer from the Stars.
For the Rangers, making a deal with the Stars would start with the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft. Of course, it would take more than that — probably a lot more, and, perhaps, even more assets than the Rangers actually have. But Drury and Co. should be in there swinging for a home run.
Why?
Simply, Robertson is worth it. He’s that much of a difference maker. Plus, he fits exactly the type of star player the Rangers desperately need. At age 26, he also fits Drury’s stated desire of landing highly-skilled younger players.
Alex Tuch at age 30 wasn’t that guy for the Rangers. But Robertson is.
There are no better realistic options out there than Robertson, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He’d only be available because the Stars are up against the salary cap — they have less than $10 million to spend this offseason, per PuckPedia — and Robertson’s one year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Drury was a legit baseball player back in the day, a Little League World Series champion from Trumbull, Connecticut. He knows what it means to take a mighty swing. So, if it means paying Robertson well into eight figures annually on a long-term commitment, plus dealing away a bunch of assets including the fifth pick in the draft Friday, the Rangers at least must consider it seriously.
The Rangers have $25.7 million in projected cap space, and only one somewhat significant player to re-sign this summer — RFA defenseman Braden Schneider. There’s plenty of room to afford this type of contract, especially with the cap going up in subsequent years.
But can they get a trade done with the Stars? That’s the question.
Why it’s worth it for Rangers to trade No. 5 pick as part of package for Jason Robertson
Trading the No. 5 overall pick in pretty much any other legitimate or realistic scenario doesn’t make sense for the Rangers. But Robertson is an absolute scoring machine and well within his prime; he’s coming off a 45-goal season and put up 80+ points in each of the past four seasons, including 96 in 2025-26 and 109 four years ago.
The Rangers do not have another player like him on the NHL roster or in their prospect pipeline, especially since trading Artemi Panarin — who’s eight years older — to the Los Angeles Kings to kickstart their retool back in February.
Word is that the Stars reportedly want at least a similar return as to what they surrendered to the Carolina Hurricanes for star forward Mikko Rantanen ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. They dealt forward Logan Stankoven — then 22 and in his third NHL season, a pair of conditional first-round draft picks, and two third-round selections to the Hurricanes.
That’s five assets, three considered premium. Stankoven broke out this past season and scored 21 goals, before helping the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup by scoring 11 goals in 19 postseason games. Carolina, ironically, flipped the 2026 first-rounder to the Rangers in the K’Andre Miller trade last summer. The Hurricanes still have the Stars’ first-round pick in 2028.
The Rangers could send that No. 26 pick back to the Stars, but let’s be real, it’s the No. 5 pick that moves the needle for Dallas here. Considering the fact that the Rangers don’t have a trove of prospects nor emerging NHL players like Stankoven to part with, that No. 5 pick is the key to any possible trade for Robertson.
Since the Rangers have four picks in the third round this year, plus their first- and third-round selections in following drafts, the one component missing — if the Stars demand a return similar to what they gave up for Rantanen — is a young, talented NHL player on the rise. But since the No. 5 pick is so appealing, perhaps the Rangers could offer a prospect that the Stars like, rather than, say, Gabe Perreault, whom New York does not want to move.
Nonetheless, that’s up to Drury and Nill to work out. But there’s likely no conversation to be had if the Rangers don’t offer up that No. 5 pick in the first place. And, in this particular case, they should.
Keep in mind that Dallas doesn’t need to trade Robertson before the draft, which begins Friday. The Stars can keep him next season or sign him long term. They could also choose to trade Robertson some time later this summer, though the Rangers would be out of luck because they would’ve already used their best bargaining chip — the No. 5 pick — on Friday night.
The clock is ticking.
