Have you ever gone through a crowd of people so tight, you've had to suck your gut in? You're bumping through everyone, catching stray elbows from unaware guys who are too drunk to care. Heck, you let out a fart from sucking in your gut.
Yeah, I've been through that before.
Sometimes, you want to push the person who keeps bumping into you and tell them to hit a shower. But I'm not heading to prison for knocking someone's daylights out.
Anyways, that's where the Dallas Stars are with their cap space situation. They only have $2,755,084 in available room to work with, making things tighter than they need to be. With that comes names that are suddenly available for trade discussions... including Jason Robertson.
Suddenly, teams like the Vegas Golden Knights are listening. They're looking to get younger and better on the wing. Why not take a stab at the 25-year-old and give Eichel a top-notch winger?
After all, you're in the middle of a Stanley Cup contention window. Such a move would shock and shift the NHL landscape, bringing credence back to the "Evil Empire." Of course, there are pros to getting the Stars, well, star on your team. But is this a move that could be too much for even Kelly McCrimmon?
The pros of getting Jason Robertson to the Vegas Golden Knights
A player of Robertson's magnitude doesn't come along in the trade market this often. He already has 168 goals in his six-year career, making him one of the best wingers in the NHL.
He's also efficient on the power play, scoring 45 career goals on the unit. Add in a finishing touch and a penchant for scoring game-winning goals (31 in his career) and you can't go wrong with acquiring the 25-year-old.
All this would have Golden Knights fans with visions of odd-man rushes with Robertson and Eichel. The two forwards blazing down the ice with fire tracks behind them would leave the NHL in smoke.
Sure, that sounds good and all. But it isn't likely to happen at this point. Why, you ask? Well, there are a few reasons.
Why the Golden Knights won't be getting Jason Robertson
First off, we have Robertson's cap hit for next season, standing at $7.75 million AAV. That's a lot to take on, even when a player like Alex Pietrangelo goes on LTIR.
Remember, the Golden Knights don't have a lot of cap space themselves ($9,615,000, according to PuckPedia). That's why Nicolas Hague has been featured in countless trade rumors. He has an incoming contract that could take up nearly half of the cap space.
Don't forget to add Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel's incoming deals to the mix. Both players are looking to get significant pay bumps after the 2025-26 season. Mind you, Robertson is in the same boat, becoming a restricted free agent after next season.
That's not even mentioning the free agent pursuit of Mitch Marner. Why go through all the hassle of trading even more draft capital and players when you can sign a superstar winger for next to nothing?
All these lead to the Golden Knights having other priorities and not focusing on the Dallas Stars winger. Unless Kelly McCrimmon can give Jim Nill an offer he can't refuse, the thoughts of Robertson playing at T-Mobile Arena will sleep with the fishes.