Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson, left, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon battle for the puck in Denver, on May 17.Jason Robertson wasn’t highly rated going into his draft year. He was picked 39th overall. He hardly played in his rookie season. But by Year 3, he had star quality, scoring 41 goals. Time for him to cash in in restricted free agency.
Robertson blinked on the last day of training camp. He took a four-year US$31-million deal and pronounced himself “relieved.” He was a first-team all-star last year. Johnston is making less than a million bucks this year, and the same amount next year. In two years, he’ll be playing for Canada in Milan and everyone will be wondering how they missed out on this guy.
If you’re Robertson, and you drop out of the news for weeks at a time, you are motivated to settle. If you are Nylander, and all the papers are wondering if the GM should be fired because he can’t arm-wrestle you into submission, you aren’t going to budge.