Robertson was loaned to the Marlies on Saturday, but wasn't in the lineup for their game on Wednesday against Belleville.
Robertson was loaned to the Marlies on Saturday, but wasn't in the lineup for their game on Wednesday against Belleville.
Nick Robertson wasn't in the Marlies lineup for their school day game on Wednesday morning after being sent to the AHL on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was sent to the Marlies to give the Maple Leafs roster room to activate Calle Jarnkrok from injured reserve. I've been told that Robertson has been working with Toronto's development staff over the last couple of days since being loaned to the Marlies.
His absense from the Marlies lineup is likely less about trade-related reasons, but more so keeping him healthy and ready for whenever the Maple Leafs call him back up.
According to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on Saturday — the same day Robertson was sent down — the forward was told by Toronto that his loan to the AHL wasn't play related, but to make room for Jarnkrok.
Robertson, along with Matthew Knies, were the only two players on Toronto who were waivers exempt, and with Knies playing on the Maple Leafs' top line, Robertson was the option to send down.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe addressed Robertson coming out of the lineup on Saturday, saying he spoke to the forward earlier that morning, not about going to the Marlies but why he wasn't playing that night.
"Jarnkrok's coming back, so that's that. But also guys have played well around him. (Pontus) Holmberg's played well. (Bobby) McMann's played well. (Ryan) Reaves has played extremely well," Keefe said on Saturday night.
"The message to [Robertson] is that the league is hard. It's hard to score consistently, so I think he's learning that. When you're not going to score, now your game has to be very well-rounded. That part of it's coming.
"But he's played well for us. In fact, a lot of his best hockey he's played for us is when he's come in, [from] out of our lineup. He's come in and given us a boost of energy and he's got energy and adrenaline and all those things. That's when he's played at his best. So, his opportunity will come back around and he'll do the same thing for us.
"Just keep building at it and recognizing that him coming out is not a reflection of his play, necessarily. 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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Robertson has played a majority of his games this season on the Maple Leafs' third line. In 41 games this year, he has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Robertson is in the final year of his entry-level contract which carries an annual average value of $796,667.
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