FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jason Robertson and the Dallas Stars will avoid a salary arbitration hearing after the high-scoring forward signed a $12 million contract for next season.

The Stars announced the deal Tuesday night, a day before Robertson’s 27th birthday and 2 1/2 weeks after he had filed for arbitration.

“Jason has been a cornerstone of our franchise since he was drafted in 2017,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “A dynamic and skilled player, he has been one of the league’s top offensive threats since making his NHL debut.”

Robertson, who has 490 points (213 goals and 277 assists) in his 456 regular-season career games with the Stars, could become an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer.

His $12 million salary for 2026-27 matches forward Mikko Rantanen for the highest on the Stars. Rantanen just completed the first season of the $96 million, eight-year extension he signed to facilitate the deadline trade that brought him to Dallas from Carolina in March 2025.

Nill had acknowledged at the conclusion of the NHL draft that the Stars had a sign-and-trade deal in place to send Robertson to Seattle for the seventh overall pick. While Robertson couldn’t veto that trade, he wouldn’t agree to a long-term deal with the Kraken — a reported $120 million over eight years ($15 million a season).

Robertson had a team-high 96 points (45 goals, 51 assists) this past season. It was his third 40-goal season, and completed a $31 million, four-year deal he got in 2022.

The Stars drafted Robertson 39th overall in the second round of the 2017 draft. He has played all 328 of their regular-season games the past four seasons, scoring 365 points (155 goals and 210 assists) in that span.

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