The New York Rangers are heading into the summer in a great spot. They have a ton of salary cap space and all of their draft picks. That means general manager Chris Drury has the perfect opportunity to do something rare in the NHL: offer sheet a restricted free agent (RFA).
There are some massive young names available as RFAs this summer. When fans think about offer sheets, players like Connor Bedard or Leo Carlsson immediately come to mind. They are the ultimate dream targets. But the reality is that Chicago and Anaheim would match any contract offer in a heartbeat, making a move for them nothing more than a summer rumor.
That said, if the Rangers want to actually land a star and catch the Dallas Stars off guard. Their top RFA target should be Jason Robertson.
Robertson makes the most sense to offer sheet
Robertson is an elite point producer, but his contract situation in Dallas is getting incredibly tight. The Stars are stuck in salary cap hell. They only have around $10 million in total cap space left to address the rest of their roster, and Robertson’s camp is reportedly looking for a massive long-term deal with a rumored AAV of $12 million per season.
This is where the Rangers come into play. If New York decides to go big and offer Robertson an offer sheet worth over $12 million a year, they put Dallas in a corner. To match it, the Stars would need to trade away other key players to fit him in. If Dallas decides they can't match it, Robertson becomes a Ranger, as long as he agrees to it.
The offer sheet would cost New York a ton of future assets. Passing the $12 million mark on an offer sheet means the Rangers would have to give up four unprotected first-round picks to Dallas as compensation. It is a massive price to pay, and it would leave the Rangers without a first-round pick for a long time. Unless, of course, they decide to sell off other assets and are able to recoup a first.
Some may think, why would a rebuilding Rangers team go out and offer sheet Robertson? Well, aside from what he would bring to the offense. It would likely change the “rebuild” to a "retool." Adding Robertson to a young core of Alexis Lafrenière, Gabe Perreault, and Will Cuylle would be a near-perfect fit.
Plus, they would have Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and even Vincent Trocheck, whom they could try and trade for future assets. Or, keep and see how the retool develops with the addition of Robertson.
Although it does seem far-fetched, offer-sheeting Robertson makes a lot more sense for the Rangers. Rather than trying to offer-sheet Cole Sillinger, who doesn’t move the needle. If they are going to go through the trouble of offering sheeting, it has to move the needle and be worthwhile. Robertson checks both of those boxes and would make the Rangers a lot better than they were at the end of the 2025-26 season.
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