Stars and Jason Robertson face critical deadline on Sunday.

The ongoing saga between Dallas Stars restricted free agent forward Jason Robertson and the Stars organization has been fascinating to watch unfold over the course of the past two seasons and now things will finally come to a head later today.

Robertson is facing a critical deadline later today with 4 pm EST on Sunday being the official deadline for which Robertson is eligible to file for arbitration. Now there is good reason to believe that Robertson was hoping to work out a long term deal with the Stars on his next contract, but that has not materialized and Robertson's last point of leverage, aside from refusing to play, will be his ability to file for arbitration.

While the choice will be Robertson's, the fact remains that this is also a critical deadline for the Dallas Stars given the implications for their future. While team's normally get to select if the contract will be a one year or a two year deal when a player elects for arbitration, there is one notable exception to that rule. If a player is only 1 year away from unrestricted free agency, as is the case here with Robertson, then the deal is automatically a 1 year contract.

This means that Robertson electing for arbitration would effectively force the Stars into a scenario where Robertson would earn a massive payday on a 1 year contract, all the while walking himself to unrestricted free agent next season and leaving the Stars in an even weaker position than they are in right now.

There is of course a huge risk in this for Robertson as well, he could get injured or could see his point production decline next season, but that may still be the better option given that the pricey long-term contract he was hoping to get from the Stars does not appear to be materializing.

Robertson is coming off of a huge season in which he had 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points in just 82 games played, and could be setting himself up to be one of the richest players in the NHL if he does walk to unrestricted free agency one year from now.