Stars win third straight preseason game; home opener next Friday against Blues

The Stars are 3-0 in the preseason after a 2-0 win over the Wild. A rematch is next, then the home opener vs. the Blues.

The Dallas Stars are 3-0 in the preseason after defeating the Minnesota Wild 2-0.

The Stars are seeking another deep playoff run after losing in the first round in 2025.

The roster is largely the same. The Stars return Team USA goalie Jake Oettinger, top scorer Jason Robertson on a one-year deal, rising star Wyatt Johnson, and returning stars Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen.

Oettinger has won 173 regular-season games in the past five seasons, and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is the only NHL goalie in that span with more (180).

Robertson declined to be traded in the offseason after a protracted contract negotiation with the front office. He'll make $12m this season before hitting free agency. The team could trade or extend him later in the season.

Robertson has averaged more than a point a game in his six full NHL seasons, all with the Stars — 490 points (213 goals and 277 assists) in 456 regular-season games.

He was their leading scorer with 96 points (45 goals and 51 assists) last season, and had five goals with three assists in six playoff games. His third 40-goal season wrapped up a $31 million, four-year deal before he entered the offseason as a restricted free agent.

Without a contract extension, Robertson next summer could become an unrestricted free agent for the first time.

General manager Jim Nill said the Stars hope to reach a long-term extension, though the earliest they could sign such a deal would be Jan. 1. He said they would start working on it before then with a player he has called a franchise cornerstone.

Nill said different scenarios were discussed during these negotiations, including long- and short-term deals. He said Robertson’s representatives made it clear throughout the process that the forward wanted to be with the Stars.

Robertson, the 39th overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NHL draft, has played in all 328 regular-season games the past four seasons. He has scored 365 points (155 goals and 210 assists) in that span.

His $12 million salary for 2026-27 will match forward Mikko Rantanen for the highest on the Stars. Rantanen just completed the first season of the $96 million, eight-year extension he signed to facilitate the deadline trade that brought him to Dallas from Carolina in March 2025.

The Stars had a sign-and-trade deal in place during last month’s draft to send Robertson to Seattle for the seventh overall pick. While Robertson couldn’t veto that trade, he didn’t agree to a long-term deal with the Kraken — a reported $120 million over eight years ($15 million a season).

With veteran Tyler Seguin going into the final season of his contract that pays $9.85 million annually, and the NHL salary cap also increasing by almost that much next offseason, the Stars would be in a much better position to extend Robertson than they are now.

The Stars also return longtime veteran Jamie Benn , who has played with Seguin since 2013. Both players could be free agents next offseason.