The vibes surrounding the Philadelphia Flyers aren't necessarily the greatest currently. After a fast start to the season, the Flyers' have fallen back down to Earth. Entering Tuesday, they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, and are 23-17-8 through 48 games. One of those six losses in that stretch was a 6-3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In that game, they watched Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin notch two points each.
Flyers fans have taken solace in the fact that Crosby and Malkin are near the end of their careers. Not to mention, Malkin is a free agent after this season. So eventually, there will be a fall-off for the Penguis eventually, right?
According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required), the Penguins "absolutely love" Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson. Yohe also says that the Penguins "an enticing mix of NHL veterans, draft picks and more than enough cap space to satisfy Robertson’s financial requests."
Flyers fans will dread the Jason Robertson trade buzz linking him to the Penguins
If the Penguins were to land Robertson within the next two years, it would be a nightmare scenario for the Flyers. Imagine finally getting to enjoy Crosby and Malkin not be on the Penguins anymore, only for them to add a legitimate young star in Robertson?
Let's start with the specifics. Robertson is a restricted free agent this summer, meaning he can only negotiate a contract extension with the Stars. The only way Robertson could negotiate with another team is if that organization submits an offer sheet. The thing is, if the player were to accept the offer sheet, the Penguins would have to surrender a set number of draft picks. As for how many picks, it could be as high as four first-round picks if the annual average salary is over $11.7 million. This is for the 2025-26 season and it changes yearly. Still, that's a high price to pay. Flyers fans would certainly love the fact that the Penguins gave up nearly half a decade of first-round picks.
Considering the fact that the likes of Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, and Kyle Conner all signed contract extensions before hitting free agency next summer. With the lack of star power available on the open market, Robertson is going to be highly sought after in the summer of 2027 if he's not traded. But as Yohe mentions, the Penguins do have the draft capital and veteran players to entice the Stars if they decide to pull the plug on retaining Robertson. Not to mention, the Penguins will have plenty of cap space to lock Robertson into a contract extension.
That would be a nightmare for the Flyers, because Robertson is one of the top young stars in the game. This season, Robertson has 27 goals and 29 assists through 49 games. In his career, Robertson has 195 goals and 255 assists through seven seasons (423 games).
There is still plenty of time before Robertson does get traded, if at all. There are going to be countless teams interested in acquiring him. But the Penguins seem to have the most at their disposal to get the Stars to agree to a deal, if they so choose.