The Dallas Stars have one major question mark hanging over them. But it appears it’s one they’ll try to address sooner rather than later.

According to a report by insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic, the Stars will be looking to initiate contract extension talks with impending UFA Jason Robertson.

LeBrun spoke with Stars’ GM Jim Nill, who confirmed the timeline in which the organization expects to begin extension talks with their 40-goal scorer.

“We’ll start sometime in December,” Nill said. “We’ll touch base, see where we’re at and hopefully get something done. That’s the plan right now.”

So, the plan is to move on a potential extension for Jason Robertson. The 27-year-old will be eligible to sign one on December 1. However, LeBrun isn’t convinced that the Stars forward will take the first opportunity he gets to sign.

“I’m not convinced Robertson, who has nine goals and 19 points in 17 games, will want to extend as early as January. I have a feeling his camp will want to wait until after the season to have a better idea of the marketplace.”

That’s a very complicated situation, to say the least. And if Robertson doesn’t sign this season, the risk of losing him for nothing shoots through the roof.

As LeBrun noted, losing Robertson would sting, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Stars Can Just Pivot If They Lose Robertson

Per LeBrun’s logic, if the Stars miss out on Jason Robertson, well, it will sting. But the cap space allocated to Robertson’s extension could well go towards bringing in a comparable replacement.

“So there’s a chance the Stars lose Robertson to free agency July 1 and get nothing in return. But whatever money they are willing to spend on Robertson would then be available for another high-end player. And the fact of the matter is that Dallas is routinely on players’ shortlists. If the Stars can’t get Robertson extended, they will be major players on other high-end targets.”

The Stars signed Robertson to a one-year $12 million deal simply to avoid an uncomfortable standoff with the then-RFA forward.

But if Robertson is serious about testing the market, there might not be very much that Dallas can do to retain him.

Dallas Will Have Options at Their Disposal

The bottom line is that the Stars will have various options at their disposal, should Robertson ultimately decide to leave.

As LeBrun pointed out, almost every big-ticket player out there lists Dallas among their preferred destinations. So, convincing free agents to sign in Dallas won’t be a major issue.

In fact, there’s on, Nikita Kucherov, who might become an ideal replacement for Robertson. Of course, the math will need to work out for both sides.

But then again, could there be a better option for Dallas out there this summer?

The free-agent market hardly looks loaded at this point. So, if it’s not Kucherov, perhaps the Stars might sit out free agency next summer and stock up on cap space for 2028.