The Dallas Stars don't need to go after the No. 1 player on the trade market

Back in the 20th century, the taste-test marketing style was in vogue. A consumer would be blindfolded and asked to, say, eat or drink two or three different items. They'd then be asked which they preferred most.

Inevitably, for commercial purposes, these cleverly edited folks would choose the brand that fits the advertisement. Wild! In this particular case here, though, there's no preference but your own. And, well, no one is asking you to ingest something into your digestive tract, either, so that's nice.

Comparing Dallas Stars' Potential Trade Targets

Three players, which is the best choice for the Stars?

Anyone paying close attention this season can clearly pick out Player B and Player C. Player A, for the record, is Calgary's Nazem Kadri. The other two are Rangers winger Artemi Panarin and Stars winger Jason Robertson.

Kadri almost certainly isn't being traded to Dallas unless he came in a package that also included Metroplex native Blake Coleman. Such a deal would require, practically, general manager Jim Nill to ship Robertson to the Flames. The money doesn't work otherwise, as Dallas, as of Thursday, has just about $3.3 million in cap space to work with. Robertson is the only player who makes the kind of money required in the deal and who could be moved out of Dallas.

It's hard to imagine Nill making such a move, and even harder to envision Stars fans not burning down the American Airlines Center. Figuratively, of course. Though Coleman, for say Mavrik Bourque and some combination of prospects and/or picks, would be much easier for fans to stomach. Panarin, though, is garnering genuine interest from the Stars. Nill has reportedly inquired with the Rangersabout making a move for the still-elite winger.

Stars Need To Keep Jason Robertson

Thing is, it's the wrong move.

Panarin remains one of the best players on the planet. He has been for the better part of the last decade. New York's disappointing season has convinced Rangers' general manager Chris Drury of the need to retool the roster, leaving Panarin out of the plans. Immediate plans, too, as the Rangers have decided to sit the winger through the remaining games ahead of the Olympic break. At age 34 and commanding an eight-figure salary, New York couldn't make the moves it needed to give the team a facelift with him on the roster. Dallas couldn't either.

Not that the Stars need to retool. They're nowhere near the mire the Rangers find themselves in. But sitting third in the Central Division a month after nipping at the heels of the NHL-leading Avalanche has forced Nill to examine his options.

Bringing in a player like Panarin would be great in a world in which Robertson could also stay. Alas, the salary cap isn't high enough to allow for such pipe dreams. And over the last five years, they're ostensibly the same player on offense, with Robertson potting more goals and Panarin dishing out more helpers. Yes, Robertson would owed about the same salary Panarin is currently making after the end of this season, but Dallas is better off with the player in his mid-20s than the one in his mid-30s, both for the future and for the right now.

Trading Robertson - for Panarin or Kadri/Coleman or Ryan O'Reilly/Michael Bunting or anyone else currently on the block - is the wrong move for the Stars' future. The only way it isn't is if Nill thinks Robertson would decline the best offer the GM could make. Then, and only then, would shipping Robo be good for the franchise.