The Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the best stories around the NHL in 2025-2026. This was a team full of veteran stars that the hockey world expected would hit rock bottom before the trade deadline and become big sellers. Instead, they currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division and are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021-2022.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson will continue to lead the charge well into their 30s, but if the Penguins want to have a real chance not only of making the playoffs, but of competing once they get there, General Manager Kyle Dubas is going to have to give them a little more help. From the sounds of it, Jason Robertson could be at the top of his wish list.
According to team reporter Josh Yohe, Pittsburgh’s interest in Robertson is very real, and they would welcome the opportunity to acquire him in a trade if he becomes available.
Yohe wrote:
“The Penguins absolutely love Jason Robertson. They’re not alone, of course. He will be in huge demand if the Stars make him available.”
Retaining Robertson, who is one of the NHL’s best wingers despite being left off Team USA’s Olympic roster, will be an extremely difficult task. The Penguins will be in prime position behind a tempting mix of NHL veterans, draft picks and more than enough cap space to meet Robertson’s financial requests.
Robertson is a young star, and the Penguins covet such a star. They could spend whatever it takes to get him without seriously disrupting their rebuild.”
The 26-year-old Robertson is in the midst of a stellar season, collecting 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) in 49 games. He’s a pending RFA in the fourth and final year of the four-year, $31 million extension signed with the Stars in 2022, which is why trade talk has surfaced.
What can the Penguins offer for Jason Robertson?
Many wonder what Pittsburgh could even offer to entice GM Jim Nill to move on from its superstar winger, but honestly, as Yohe said, they have enough.
Top-six forwards like Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust, veterans like Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha, prospects like Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen and Owen Pickering, plus fifteen picks in the first three rounds in the next three drafts. They also have an abundance of cap space, which will only increase this summer if Robertson is required to sign a new deal.
There’s no clear reason for Robertson to want to leave Dallas, a team with an elite core that should remain in contention for years to come. That said, those core players have already been paid and now it’s Robertson’s turn. If the Stars aren’t willing or able to pay his price, he deserves to be paid elsewhere — and Pittsburgh is one place that can make that happen.
Next: Social media post indicates Patrik Laine traded before deadline
#Report #Kyle #Dubas #Penguins #land #Jason #Robertson