Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin Both Healthy as Dallas Stars Training Camp Approaches
Two of the Stars' top wingers had something like a normal offseason, for once
On Tuesday morning, Stars players, coaches, executives, and alumni came out to participate in the team’s annual Drive Fore the Kids Golf Tournament, which raises money for the Dallas Stars Foundation.
The Stars had numerous familiar faces participating, including Board Chairman Marty Turco, Dallas Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts, Glen Gulutzan and his coaching staff, and a number of current Stars players.
Two such players were Tyler Seguin and Jason Robertson, both of whom battled injuries last season.
In Jason Robertson’s case, he was unable to train for much of last summer after undergoing foot surgery to remove a cyst at the end of July 2024. The first half of his season certainly indicated that he wasn’t fully healthy, as he scored just 10 goals in his first 41 games. But his game was back to its usual form in the second half, when he put up 25 goals and 46 points in the next 41 games to finish the regular season as the team’s leading goal-scorer.
However, the season ended with some more horrible injury luck, as Nashville’s Michael McCarron hit Robertson along the boards at just the right angle to catch Robertson’s knee in a bad spot. As a result, Robertson missed the entire first round of the playoffs before returning against Winnipeg.
On Tuesday, Robertson confirmed that the knee injury was no longer a concern, and that he was able to skate three or four weeks after the season without needing the knee brace any longer after that.
“I wanted to [get rid of the brace] at the end of the playoffs, but it was just a precaution, not to get rid of it,” Robertson said. “Yeah, the knee was no issue. It was a nice, healthy summer.”
Robertson also said he had a relaxing summer that including a trip to Hawai’i in June, as well as a short visit to Toronto for his brother’s wedding.
On the less relaxing side, there has also been a fair bit of talk about Robertson’s future in Dallas as he enters the final year of his current contract. But for now, Robertson said he’s not too concerned with where talks are at as he enters the final year of the four-year bridge deal he signed with Dallas back in the fall of 2022.
“Yeah, I mean, some stuff,” Robertson said when asked if there were any ongoing contract talks with the Stars. “But I’m restricted [a RFA], so it’s not like you can get up and go next year. That was the beauty of when we both did it, right? That’s why we wanted the extra year, that’s why they wanted that [last RFA] year.”
As it stands now, Robertson will be a free agent in the summer of 2027. In theory, the Stars don’t have to extend Robertson for another year.
The risk of doing so, for Dallas, would be that a healthy Robertson has a career year, driving up his asking price past the point Dallas is willing to pay. That could lead to Dallas having to choose between trading him before that happens, or else signing him to a final one-year deal that walks him right to free agency, which would risk losing him for nothing in 2027.
For now, however, Robertson is focused on preparing for another big season in Dallas.
“It’s gonna be a long year, and hope everything goes well,” Robertson said.
In the last 12 months, the Stars have locked up Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, and Mikko Rantanen to long-term extensions. If Robertson can repeat his 109-point performance from 2022-23, then he will surely end up commanding a big deal of of his own—whether it’s in Dallas or not.
Tyler Seguin also has at least two years left in Dallas, though he’s been clear that he’d like to be here longer than that.
Like Robertson, Seguin also spent last season hampered by injury, though in his case it wasn’t the start of his season, but the end that was most affected. Seguin began the year red-hot, scoring 20 points in 19 games before undergoing hip surgery in early December. He returned for the Stars’ final game of the season, and he scored the game-winning overtime goal for Dallas in Game 3 against Colorado.
But after the season, Jim Nill revealed that Seguin had picked up a shoulder injury during the playoffs, which Seguin elaborated on when asked about it Tuesday morning.
“Game one against Darnell Nurse,” Seguin said in between swings at the driving range. “He hit me in the second period, and it was an AC sprain. Never had one before.”
Seguin said the injury mainly bothered him during faceoffs for the rest of Game 1, but that he was able to have his shoulder numbed for the remainder of the series in order to keep playing.
“Then it was just a summer of rehab, and yeah. Feels nice now,” Seguin said. “It’s a little easier rehab than the hip, for sure.”
(This writer feels compelled to editorialize a bit to say that, if a shoulder can be judged by a golf swing, Seguin’s recovery looks to have gone quite well indeed.)
One other change for Seguin has been the departure of his linemate from the last two seasons, Mason Marchment. What is Seguin thinking about when it comes to the prospect of a new-look line this season?
“Honestly, the line thoughts for me probably stopped four or five years ago,” Seguin said. “I think you can get lost in the rabbit hole about that.”
“Losing Mush, you know, I’ve had probably a handful of those guys in my career where like, [losing] that one sucks, that one hurts. Mush was definitely one of them, but that’s part of the business. I’m thankful that I got to have the whole summer with Mush, to get together, go through his emotions with everything.”
It’s no secret that Marchment was also one of Jake Oettinger’s best friends, and the Stars goalie has been open about how tough the trade was to hear about. Oettinger also told Sam Nestler earlier this summer that Marchment and Oettinger’s wives are close friends, and the two are both pregnant with similar due dates, adding another tough element to the departure.
The business of hockey can be brutal sometimes. And that’s worth remembering, whether you’re Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, or Mason Marchent.
“I know he’s excited about Seattle,” Seguin said. “Happy for him.”
Nice to read good things about good players. Looking forward to the start of camp!