I'm sure a lot of you are a tad upset that the Dallas Stars didn't land Artemi Panarin earlier this afternoon. While that would have been a fantastic trade to upgrade the defense, you would be losing a top prospect in return for his services for the remainder of the season. Jim Nill did a good job of not biting on someone who would have only been here through the end of the season. However, not trading for Panarin can only mean one thing: A Jason Robertson extension is around the corner.
Let's take a look at the trade deal that sent Panarin from the East Coast to the West Coast. Panarin is headed to the Kings for Liam Greentree, a conditional third-round pick in 2026 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2028. While it doesn't look like that big of a haul, think about who the Rangers would have wanted from the Stars. It would not be like a player like Greentree, who is a good player but has some things to work on before making the NHL.
If I had to guess on who the Rangers would have wanted in return for Panarin, it would have been Mavrik Bourque. He's the type of player that the Rangers would have wanted to invest in since he's young and an upcoming force in this league. Given how the Rangers have been playing recently, I wouldn't be surprised if they were looking at players under 25 for Panarin. I'm sure the Rangers would have given him an extension as well since Bourque's contract is up at the end of the season.
However, the Stars not making a move for Panarin means one thing: they are focused on re-signing Robertson. They need to save every penny because Tyler Seguin is making $9 million next season. While the salary cap is increasing over the next three seasons, I'm sure the Stars can work around Seguin's contract. The thing right now with Robertson is: where is the cutoff line for Jim Nill? How much does he want to go over what Mikko Rantanen's contract to keep Robertson in Dallas?
This might not even be solved by the trade deadline, which I'm sureI'm, Nill would like to get done by then. He got Wyatt Johnston's contract extension done by the trade deadline last season, but that's because Johnston wanted to double-dip and cash in when the salary cap rises. With Robertson, the main thing is that he wants the eight-year contract before it becomes a seven-year deal with more money than Rantanen is making now. He even changed his agent to Rantanen's to get the deal done.
In conclusion, it seems the Stars are hoping Robertson agrees to a long-term extension that works for both sides by passing on Panarin. I can't tell you if Panarin would have pushed the Stars over the edge to make the Stanley Cup Finals. What passing on Panarin means is the Stars have moved all their chips to the edge of the table to make Robertson happy here for the long term. That's where I think the Stars are headed after passing up on trading for Panarin.