Nick Robertson called his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs a "blessing in disguise," as well as sharing what he learned with the Leafs, reuniting with Kyle Dubas, and more.
It's been over two weeks since the Toronto Maple Leafs moved on from left winger Nick Robertson. On July 1, Toronto traded Robertson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2028 fourth-round pick, and now he gets the opportunity for a change in scenery.
While the Penguins acquired him at the beginning of the month as an RFA, he signed a new contract with Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The 24-year-old inked a two-year contract at $3.25 million per season. This is the longest contract Robertson has had in his NHL career since his entry-level deal.
As a guest on TSN's OverDrive, Robertson revealed how important it was for him to get some term on this latest deal.
"For my full time playing in the NHL, I've yet to have another season under contract," he said. "That was a really big focus for me, was to get some term and to settle in and give me time to get some runway in Pittsburgh. I'm happy the way it turned out. I'm really excited."
In parts of six seasons with the Maple Leafs, it wasn't easy for Robertson to find a secure spot in the lineup.
Across 234 appearances for Toronto, he averaged 11:52 of ice time during his tenure and logged a career-high average of 12:40 this past year. Despite his limited ice time, he's shown great promise, particularly in the department of scoring goals, including 16 tallies and 32 points in 2025-26.
Even with the lack of playing time and a true opportunity to play in the team's top six, Robertson took away a positive learning experience from his time with the Leafs.
"Always be ready," Robertson said of what he learned. "Toronto had such a talented team… and I had to be on my game all the time, whether that was with (Craig Berube) or (Sheldon Keefe).
"But I think it's always a blessing in disguise because you can't get complacent. Whether you're up and down the lineup, you got to work your way to either get up in the lineup or to stay there," he added.
Of course, with signing his new deal recently and avoiding arbitration, he's met with Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, whom he knew from his days with the Leafs, and drafted him with the 53rd pick in the 2019 draft.
Robertson shared what his first interactions were like with Dubas, meeting his new coach, Dan Muse, and the message they portrayed to him about joining the team.
"I had a great conversation with Muse and Kyle, and basically the message was, it's a new opportunity, a change of scenery," he said.
He also pointed out that recently there have been other players who have made a stop in Pittsburgh in a move that was a change of scenery and were able to have some success.
A recent example of that would be Anthony Mantha. Mantha signed a one-year contract with the Penguins ahead of this past season, and he went from a player who missed plenty of time the year prior with injury but also didn't produce strong production.
But after his one season in Pittsburgh, he marked the best campaign of his 11-year NHL career. Mantha scored 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games in 2025-26. That campaign earned the veteran right winger a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils at $4.75 million per year.
Ultimately, Robertson is looking to replicate that type of success with his new team.
"My job is to go in and be ready, so I look forward to that," he said.
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