As the Maple Leafs prepare for the start of the final third of their regular season, one of the narratives will likely be the future of left winger Nick Robertson in Toronto. And as we’ll examine in this column, we’re expecting the Leafs to trade Robertson by or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline.
The Leafs have been doing the dance with Robertson since they drafted him with the 53rd-overall pick in the 2019 draft. And things have not gotten better for Robertson, especially recently. This season, he didn’t record a point until his seventh game – and he didn’t get his second point until his 20th game. And since the new calendar year began, Robertson has played 16 games, and in that span of time, he’s generated two goals and three points. That is in addition to his underwhelming eight goals and 12 points in 47 games this season.
Now, Robertson supporters would tell you he’s only 23, and he’s been given limited minutes for Craig Berube’s Maple Leafs. Both of those things are true – he’s averaging 12:04 of ice time, and since Jan. 20, Robertson has played nine games, averaging less than 11 minutes in six of those nine games. It’s not going to be easy to get any kind of momentum when you’re logging that amount of time on ice.
It’s also true Robertson’s speed is notable, but it never seems to translate into regular, reliable amounts of offense. That’s why Leafs coach Craig Berube has been using Robertson so sparingly. And you really can’t blame Berube for that. It would be one thing if Robertson channelled his energies into high-danger areas and stamped his name on Leafs fans’ hearts with an approach more like that of teammate Matthew Knies. But Robertson is a player whose best NHL season thus far was a 14-goal season last year. Robertson has been too invisible, in too many games, for Leafs fans to admire him the way they admire Knies.
So really, the question becomes – what can you expect the Leafs to acquire by trading Robertson? From this writer’s perspective, they’ll be lucky to get a second-round pick for him. You probably could’ve and should’ve sold higher on Robertson last summer, but right now, you also don’t want his stock to fall any further than it already has. The deadline is now only two weeks away, and you might never get a better bid for Robertson than you’ll get by trading him now.
Who knows – Leafs GM Brad Treliving may package Robertson in a trade for a third-line center that makes the trade return for Robertson more impressive than a second-rounder. But as a stand-alone trade chip, Robertson can’t be regarded as a blue-chip prospect anymore. And Toronto has loads of young and cheaply-paid talent in the American League they can slot into a top-nine role and see what happens with them.
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When you’ve been given 135 kicks at the can (the number of career regular-season games Robertson has played for the Buds) and you produce only 25 goals and 46 points, you’re not going to get many more shots with the big boys on the first or second line. There are going to be newer toys for management to play with, and Robertson wouldn’t be the first and won’t be the last youngster to be cut loose by the team that drafted and developed him. Sometimes you do need a fresh start with a new team. And on a different team – one that can afford to give him an extended run with decent minutes – Robertson could eventually turn things around.
That said, it’s simply not working out for him in Toronto. In his past three games, Robertson has played a combined total of 31:16. Twice, he played less than 11 minutes. Thus, the end feels like it’s nigh for Robertson and the Leafs. And while they may regret eventually giving up on Robertson, the alternative – continuing to shoehorn him in when the point totals aren’t there – is something that won’t last for much longer. Robertson is in the process of being bypassed in Toronto’s depth chart, and nothing short of an instant and prolonged surge will save him from becoming an ex-Leaf relatively soon.
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