The Rangers Should Be Willing To Trade Anyone for Jason Robertson

A quick Google search tells you that the definition of "anyone" is "any person or people," and that’s exactly what the Rangers should be willing to bring to the table in potential Jason Robertson negotiations.

Following a disappointing end to the Dallas Stars’ season in a third consecutive Western Conference Final loss, it’s clear that they’re another team in serious need of some change. One of those potential changes appears to be moving on from one of their star forwards who will be entering the final year of his contract in Jason Robertson. The Rangers should be willing to do whatever it takes—and then some—to acquire this player and get him signed to an extension as soon as possible. 

Now before justifying that, let’s talk about who Jason Robertson is and what he brings to the ice on a nightly basis. Drafted 39th overall in 2017, Robertson spent four seasons in the OHL developing with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Niagara Icedogs before making his professional debut. In the 2019-20 season, Robertson registered 25 goals and 22 assists for a total of 47 points with the AHL Texas Stars and picked up his first NHL point in one of three games he played that season with the Dallas Stars. From that moment on, Robertson was destined to become exactly what was pressed on the front of his jersey—a star. 

In the shortened COVID-19 season, Robertson recorded 45 points in 51 games played. Those alone are pretty great numbers for his first “full” professional season, but it would also be the furthest he would be from a point-per-game player for the next four seasons. He'd follow that performance up with 79 points in 74 games played in 2021-22, 109 points in 2022-23, and then back-to-back 80 point seasons in 2023-24 and 2024-25. To put that in perspective, there are only two Rangers players who had better seasons than him across the last four years: Artemi Panarin in 2020-21, 2023-24, and 2024-25 ,and Mika Zibanejad in 2020-21.