Dallas Stars' Prefer 3 Offseason Trades Over Moving Robertson

Mason Marchment & Matt Dumba, Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson's name was surprisingly out there in trade rumors because the Dallas Stars need cap space to sign some players that they will otherwise lose in free agency. It appears as though that has been pulled back as the team would need an offer too good to resist to trade Robertson. Instead, it was reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period that the Stars prefer to move Mason Marchment, Ilya Lyubushkin, or Matt Dumba.

While Lyubushkin and Dumba make a lot of sense, Marchment is a productive member of the forward group and would be a loss to an area where the Stars are desperately trying to keep players. He does get into some penalty trouble throughout the season, but the 29-year-old scored 22 goals and 47 points in 62 games. He is definitely not one of the most productive players on the team and he has one year left at $4.5 million AAV.

Dumba has one year left on his two-year deal at $3.75 million and Lyubushkin has two years left at $3.25 million AAV. Lyubushkin is much more impactful in the lineup playing 80 games during the regular season and 14 in the playoffs while Dumba played 63 regular season games and no playoff games.

Dumba would be the top choice to move if the Stars can. Only having one year left helps their case in dumping him, even if a pick has to be attached. Dallas already had to address their right side, even if Nils Lundqvist is healthy, so moving Dumba and/or Lyubushkin should come first.

Dallas would likely much rather keep Robertson than Marchment, so if that's the only choice to clear cap space, it will be Marchment and multiple teams would be happy to acquire him for an asset.

The Stars' UFAs include Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, Evgenii Dadonov, Cody Ceci, Colin Blackwell, and Brendan Smith, while their RFAs are Mavrik Bourque and Lundqvist. If moves aren't made soon, Bourque is going to get sent multiple offer sheets and the Stars won't be able to match without consequence. There is a lot of work to do and if Dallas can move at least two of Marchment, Lyubushkin, and Dumba, they will have themselves a lot more to work with than the $5 million in projected cap space the team currently has to deal with.