'I Enjoyed My Time There': Nick Robertson Reflects On Time In Toronto, Talks Transition To Penguins

Two summers ago, then-Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson decided to take a bet on himself and his future. In June of 2024, as a restricted free agent, he requested a trade from Toronto.

Between the trade request, the too-frequent healthy scratches, inconsistent minutes, and a couple of contract negotiation disputes, things seemed a bit tumultuous during Robertson's tenure in Toronto, to say the least. After all, he did eventually get his initial wish fulfilled and was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jul. 1, 2026. 

However, any tales of animosity coming from outside the house were not taking into account the complete picture of those last two years in Toronto. In his final season as a Leaf, Robertson genuinely had a good experience and looks back on it with fondness.

"A couple years ago, I mean, that's just part of where I was at," Robertson said. "Obviously, it's the past, and I'm not going to go into it. But, my last year in Toronto, I really enjoyed my time. I built a good relationship with guys and other stuff.

"This summer, it was part of the business and how things shape up. But, I enjoyed my time there."

And a trade two years after his request wasn't exactly something he was expecting, even if it didn't come as a total surprise. 

Robertson enjoyed his best season as a Leaf in 2025-26, amassing 16 goals and 32 points in 78 games. Despite being a smaller player at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, he has always excelled on the forecheck and used his footspeed to his advantage, living around the net-front area and being able to finish plays with his quick, accurate, heavy release.

He was still only receiving a little more than 12 minutes per game, but he made the most of those minutes, the bulk of which came as part of Toronto's bottom-six. 

From his vantage point, he had not only built relationships but began to take some steps last season, which made the uncertainty surrounding his future with the team as an RFA this time around something that he wasn't fully sure about. Even if changes throughout the organization were happening - former GM Brad Treliving was relieved of his duties and replaced by John Chayka this summer, while they also replaced Craig Berube with Jim Hiller on the coaching front - he didn't know whether or not he was going to be part of the team through that shift.

"I had some discussions with my agent and stuff, but nothing was ever concrete," Robertson said. "I just didn't know the situation, because, just guys getting signed as UFAs coming up, you never know. And I know there was a change of scenery with the coaching staff and what not, and obviously, with management.

"So, I didn't know it was going to happen, but I wasn't really shocked that it did."

And, when it did, Robertson was happy with the final landing spot. 

While Toronto missed the playoffs last season as the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh returned to the postseason for the first time in four years with a second-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. Even if many were surprised by the season that the Penguins strung together, it was no fluke that they made the playoffs, as they were the third-highest scoring team in the league and trotted in comfortably despite below-average goaltending throughout the season.

A big part of the Penguins' winning equation from last season, too, that intrigues Robertson is how much the success of change-of-scenery players, not unlike himself, drove the team toward playoff contention. He mentioned new teammates Egor Chinakhov and Connor Dewar - the latter, actually, an old and familiar teammate of his from Toronto - as players who contributed to overall team success and were able to take major career steps in the process.

Between getting the opportunity to play on a first line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell and expanded ice time on both special teams units, he believes the team's track record of setting players up for success can also apply to him this season and beyond.

"I mean, it's reassuring," Robertson said. "You have a bunch of [change-of-scenery] guys, including a guy I played with in 'Dewey.' He had such a good year last year, and it's good to see how guys can just get a change of scenery and can take off.

"But, also, it's the team, too. They put these guys in positions to be confident, play their game, and succeed. And, obviously, as time goes on with myself, you get more and more confident with the guys. So, just looking forward to plugging away."

It's not just the change-of-scenery success stories that make Pittsburgh a favorable destination, either. Robertson likes the mix of players that inhabit the locker room, both age-wise and experience-wise. 

He appreciates the healthy mix of accomplished veteran players, Chinakhov types, and young, hungry players that Pittsburgh employs, and he believes it contributes to their success on the ice as well as the camaraderie off of it. 

"I think it's such an exciting group to be a part of," Robertson said. "We kind of have that gap where you've got the guys in the mid-20s, and then the guys in the mid-30s. It's just unique. I feel like the veterans can help the younger guys and help us guys who have been in the league for a few years. I like the dynamic of the group. It's pretty cool, something to be a part of, and I want to be a part of their plans."

And those plans are, admittedly, a bit familiar to Robertson. The 25-year-old left winger was drafted in 2019 (53rd overall) by then-Toronto GM Kyle Dubas, who happens to be the same GM who brought him to the Penguins. In Toronto, Robertson had the opportunity to see and experience, up close, how Dubas builds out an organization from top to bottom.

So far, he sees that same level of detail and care in Pittsburgh, where Dubas is entering his fourth year — and that's from head coach Dan Muse's staff all the way to the upper levels of front office management.

"They care about the individual and the player," Robertson said. "Whether you're up and down a lineup, it seems like they want to put you in a position to succeed. And, also, just the communication aspect of it that I've learned. The communication here is really good. It's something that I really appreciate as a player."

Robertson is confident in not only his ability to break out in Pittsburgh but also that of his old boss - and current boss - in Dubas, who he thinks has a high level of commitment and capacity to build a out a winner in Pittsburgh.

And it's something he's hoping to be part of for the long haul.

"He's done a great job. Obviously, he has a plan in place, and I'm pretty grateful to be a part of it," Robertson said. "Everybody on the team is a part of the plan, and to be a part of that, it's pretty unique. And, how he's managed it here, I can see glimpses of how it was in Toronto. Just the staff, just how people are. They take care of the players here, which, when he was in Toronto, we got taken care of really good.

"I can see a lot of that in what he's doing here. I'm just happy to be here." 

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!