Diving into the Nick Robertson situation in Toronto

Does the 22 year old RFA deserve more playing time, or is he overvaluing his talents?

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Despite it being a fairly quiet summer in Leaf land, (other than Marner enjoying his time in Muskoka and fans comfortably sharing their opinions on that), Nick Robertson continues to sit amongst the hottest topics for the blue & white, as the 22 year old continues to look for a change of scenery.

Following the 2023-24 season where he played a career high 56 games, the RW sniper has requested a trade out of Toronto, with the ultimate goal of finding more playing time. Over this past season, the 2nd round pick was able to score 14 goals and 13 assists, spending nearly all of his time in a middle-6 role for the blue and white. 

While Robertson spent the first few games of the season on the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Marlies, (where he scored 5 goals and 6 assists over an 11 game span), he was able to complete a season without any injuries. This is the first time he was able to do this, following years of unfortunate bounces that would see him sidelined and unable to slot in for the Maple Leafs.

With a mix of the injury issues and a coach in Sheldon Keefe who didn’t particularly love putting him into the lineup, Robertson doesn’t seem to want to spend another season in Toronto. Now, this move will seem odd to a lot of Leafs’ fans, and that’s because it is - so let’s look into why...

#1: New LW Opportunities

With the departure of Tyler Bertuzzi this off-season, the LW depth on the Leafs roster has become a competition where young players will battle for the first spot alongside Auston Matthews. For now, it definetly looks like 2023 first-round pick Matthew Knies will take this spot, but who knows? Alongside Knies and Bobby McMann, Robertson has a legitimate chance to play himself into a top-6 role, especially with the injuries that might take place. With Robertson having had his first healthy season, it seems odd to not want to build on that with a team you have become familiar with, and have proven to find success with (when healthy).

#2: A New Head Coach

After Sheldon Keefe was “relieved of his duties” in May of this year, the Leafs conducted a search for a new head coach, ultimately leading them to Craig Berube. Now, in Nick Robertsons’ defense, Berube is a coach that is well known to prefer a big, strong, fast lineup - three traits that aren’t quite up Robertsons’ alley. Can he be an impactful scorer on an NHL roster? Yes. Is that on a roster built like Berube prefers it to be? I am not sure. Regardless, with a brand new coach and system in place, a lot of players would look to earn a new reputation and the trust of their new coach - just not Mr. Robertson.

Side note: don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of Robertson and his scoring abilities, just this situation has shifted my perspective of him in both my mind, and Leafs fans’ alike. After all of his injuries and struggles to stay in the lineup, it seems Leafs fans were more excited for him to play in the blue & white this year than he might be…

#3: He Has 0 Leverage

Despite all of these great points above, Robertson is an RFA that still doesn’t have a contract going into this next season. As of right now, another team could send Robertson an offer sheet, which will likely come in at a value that Toronto has no issue matching. This means that Robertson will either have to return to the Leafs, or dig some dirt up on Brad Treliving and sneak his way onto another team’s roster via trade. 

What Next?

Now, looking ahead to the 2024-25 season, it is hard to picture Robertson not at least starting the season on the Leafs roster. It is totally possible that Robertson is able to find consistent playing time and build up his value before the March 6th trade deadline, where the Leafs’ brass likely wouldn’t hate the idea of getting picks/prospects in return for a player that may not fit perfectly onto this roster. For now, expect Robertson to stay within the Leafs' system, unless a trade offer comes in that seems too good to turn down.