DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson went from training camp holdout to piling up points and setting records all season for the Dallas Stars.
On the same night “Robo” notched consecutive 40-goal seasons, he added his 41st late in overtime when he dragged the puck between the circles then ended a six-game road trip by scoring the game-winner with a nifty backhander. When he became the first Dallas player with a 100-point season on a goal back at home, he also had three assists in that game.
“Last year, it was kind of his coming out party. Everybody thought can he do it again. ... But, you know, it was real,” first-year Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Not only did he come back, but he built on what he did last year. And I think he's just scratching the surface. I mean, he's going to be a 50-goal, 100-point guy here potentially for the next decade."
Robertson finished the regular season with 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists), the second-best in franchise history behind the 114 Bobby Smith had four decades ago before the team moved south from Minnesota. The 23-year-old left wing has 234 career points (104 goals, 130 assists) in 210 regular-season games.
“He gets better every year. Game by game, he's getting better, getting to be a more complete player,” said Roope Hintz, another point-a-game player for Dallas.
After taking the Stars job last summer, DeBoer said he laid awake at night with excitement for coaching Robertson. But the restricted free agent wasn't there when camp started, and didn't join the team until a week before the opener when finally coming to terms on a $31 million, four-year contract.
Once back on the ice, it didn't take Robertson to get on track with two goals and five assists in the first five games. He later had an 18-game points streak into early December that set a team record. The first-time All-Star surpassed Mike Modano's single-season Dallas record of 93 points with a four-point night in Arizona with the Hall of Famer watching. That started a seven-game span in which he had five goals and 13 assists before the spurt ended in the regular-season finale Thursday night.
“He's so gifted at producing and shooting and just making players around him better,” Stars veteran center Tyler Seguin said.
Robertson tied the franchise record with 34 multipoint games this season, including 13 games with at least three points. He is sixth in the NHL in points, seventh in goals and 10th in assists, and is almost as automatic deflecting the credit as he is scoring.
“They put me out there to try to produce and my linemates are having great seasons,” Robertson said. “A lot of guys in this team are having fantastic seasons, so it kind of bleeds into my game. And you know that success translates from our team to individual.”
DeBoer said Robertson could shoot a puck through a doughnut hole. The coach called Robertson's ability to miss training camp and start the way he did unheard of, but not all that surprising after seeing how he works on his game, including analytics and video outside of practice.
“It shouldn’t surprise me because you know he obviously used the summer to prepare for the season on his own,” DeBoer said.
Dallas finished with 108 points in the Central Division, and opens the playoffs at home Monday night against Minnesota or Seattle. It will be only the second playoff series for Robertson, who was limited to one goal and three assists when the Stars lost a seven-game series to Calgary in the first round in May.
Robertson and the Stars are going into these playoffs on a six-game winning streak.
“Yeah, I mean, everyone wants to feel good and confident scoring, feel the puck and touching it,” he said. “You've got to stay that neutral, humble, simple median and not get too ahead of ourselves, because the playoff’s a different demon. You’re not going to get as many power plays, not getting many looks and chances. So you’ve just got to bear down.”
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