'I Think He's Going To Play A Role With Us Going Forward': Maple Leafs Avoid Temptation of Using Nick Robertson as Bargaining Chip as NHL Trade Deadline Passes
The Maple Leafs sent Robertson to the Marlies on Mar. 2 after the team activated Jarnkrok off injured reserve.
Nick Robertson might not be on the Maple Leafs' roster right now, but GM Brad Treliving still believes there's a future on the team for the 22-year-old.
Robertson was sent to the Marlies on Saturday when the Maple Leafs needed to activate Calle Jarnkrok off of injured reserve. The young winger was one of only two players on Toronto's roster who didn't need waivers to be assigned to the AHL.
"Just keep building at it and recognizing that him coming out is not a reflection of his play, necessarily," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Saturday night.
"It's more so a numbers game, and a great player like Jarnkrok's coming back in, and other guys that are in similar situations, as [Robertson] have done really well, and the way their roles line up, they're not coming out right now."
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Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Toronto had spoken to Robertson, and said, similar to Keefe, that this move was purely because he doesn't need waivers to go down to the Marlies.
Robertson, since being sent down, has been working with the Maple Leafs development staff, likely awaiting his return to the NHL. It's an opportunity that the forward is likely expecting, and one that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliivng says will come.
"I consider him one of our players with the Leafs," Treliving said following the trade deadline on Friday afternoon.
"We've added depth here today. We look to having Nick back with us before too long and I think he's going to play a role with us going forward."
Robertson has appeared in 41 of Toronto's 63 games this season, registering eight goals and 11 assists in that span, while spending most of his time in Toronto's bottom six.
He's in the final year of his entry-level deal he signed with the Maple Leafs in Sept. 2019 that carries an annual average value of $796,667. Robertson will also be a restricted free agent on July 1.
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