The Flyers would love to have this kind of Star power complementing Matvei Michkov. (Photo: Jerome Miron, Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d270888d-21c9-4a23-9aaa-56c62b04f95e.jpeg] The Flyers would love to have this kind of Star power complementing Matvei Michkov. (Photo: Jerome Miron, Imagn Images) If the Philadelphia Flyers are truly looking to swing the big trade this offseason, they need not look further than the Dallas Stars, who might have a former 100-point winger hitting the NHL trade market in short order. According to reports, stud Stars winger Jason Robertson could be on the move this summer, heading into the last year of his current contract carrying a $7.75 million cap hit. Jeff Marek, in his recent blog post [https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/the-sheet-blog-jeff-marek-dallas-stars-trade-jason-robertson-buffalo-sabres-jarmo-kekalainen] for Daily Faceoff, knows the Stars want to get tougher. From watching the Western Conference Final, we know that the Stars need defensive depth in the worst way, and the Stars need cap space and assets to make some upgrades. Marek, who connected Robertson to teams like the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars, isn't the only one talking about Robertson. Vancouver Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal added Monday on "Donnie & Dhali [https://cheknews.ca/donnie-and-dhali-the-team/]" that he's heard the 25-year-old winger's name has come up in trade talks. And you know what they say: when there's smoke... So, here's where the Flyers come in. The Flyers currently have a shade under $23 million in cap space, and only need to re-sign RFAs Cam York, Noah Cates, and potentially Jakob Pelletier. Fitting in Robertson's cap hit of $7.75 million won't be a challenge at all. Looking forward to 2026 and beyond, the Flyers will have the retained salaries of Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton coming off their books, as well as Cam Atkinson's buyout charge. Additionally, bad contracts, like Ivan Fedotov's $3.25 million cap hit, will be expiring. Ryan Ellis's contract is one year closer to being up with 2027 quickly coming up on the horizon. Evolving-Hockey's analytics model shows how dominant an offensive force Jason Robertson is at even strength. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bb34d08b-e585-4ee1-9f44-feeac4952ceb.png] Evolving-Hockey's analytics model shows how dominant an offensive force Jason Robertson is at even strength. Robertson's next contract is likely to have an AAV north of $10 million, but it's a worthwhile price for a Flyers team in need of stars. What's there not to like about him, aside from the lack of speed? Robertson is a 6-foot-3, left-shot left winger, a two-time 40-goal-scorer, and a former 109-point player who is coming off back-to-back 80-point seasons. The Flyers, as currently constructed, just don't have these types of players. Tyson Foerster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-offseason-grading-the-tyson-foerster-contract-extension] and Owen Tippett are two of the team's top left wingers, and both are right-shot players. Minor roster construction issues like this should be sorted before the Flyers really get down to it coming up out of the rebuild phase. Flyers Trade Package We've now established that Robertson would be a unicorn for the Flyers, and the Stars need to offload him and/or other players to keep the team together. At the time of this writing, the Stars have just $4.95 million in cap space [https://puckpedia.com/team/dallas-stars] and need to re-sign *checks notes* Mikael Granlund, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Evgenii Dadonov, Colin Blackwell, Mavrik Bourque, Brendan Smith, Cody Ceci, and Nils Lundkvist. Philadelphia Flyers Officially Lose Signing Rights to 3 Recently Drafted Defense Prospects [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3c3d9505-4d7b-466c-8f89-aed87ee0050d.webp] Philadelphia Flyers Officially Lose Signing Rights to 3 Recently Drafted Defense Prospects With no new signings or contracts announced on Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers have officially lost the signing rights to three recently drafted defense prospects, including two of Matvei Michkov's draft classmates. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/philadelphia-flyers-officially-lose-signing-rights-to-3-recently-drafted-defense-prospects] Next year, the Stars will also need to re-sign Robertson, Thomas Harley, and Mason Marchment. It would be a dream, but there is no way around it: Dallas has to make some moves. The Flyers have plenty of players and assets they can offer the Stars in return for Robertson to allow Dallas to then use elsewhere. We can safely assume that both of the Flyers' late first-round picks in the 2025 draft are in play, and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/players/rasmus-ristolainen-injury-adds-to-growing-concern-around-flyers] (triceps) would represent a massive upgrade on the right side of that Dallas defense. Perhaps the Stars can stash Ristolainen on LTIR and work on other things in the meantime. Replacing Robertson is the greater challenge, though it would make sense for the Flyers to offer up a player like Tippett in a potential deal. Tippett still has untapped potential at 26 years old and has scored no fewer than 20 goals in each of the last three seasons. Tippett is much faster than Robertson and, while not nearly as productive overall, can allow the Stars to do some different things with their personnel. He's also locked in at a $6.25 million cap hit through 2032, whereas Robertson is going to be commanding a significant pay raise from his $7.75 million cap hit by season's end. And, from Philadelphia's perspective, Tippett's 10-team no-trade list kicks in on July 1, 2026, so if they're on the fence about his place in the team's future, time is ticking on finding an amicable solution to that potential roadblock. Other Flyers players who might be of interest to the Stars in a Robertson trade include York, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster. That's a steep price to pay, to be sure, but to get, you have to give. The impact a 100-point player like Robertson would have on the Flyers is undeniable, especially with Philadelphia still having the No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft and a future star in Matvei Michkov who's only going to get better. With the situation around Marco Rossi [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-trade-rumors-wild-not-dying-to-deal-marco-rossi-away] now less clear than it was a few days ago, this is another way the Flyers can infuse the roster with star power.
