The tight salary cap kept Nick Robertson from starting the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His two-goal season debut may have just made sure that never happens again.
Nick Robertson knew he had an excellent training camp. And even though he understood why he was sent down to the minors by the Toronto Maple Leafs before the season started, it was still a tough pill to swallow.
But on Thursday night he made his season debut with two goals. including the overtime winner, in a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars.
"I was saying earlier that if someone told me a week ago that I would get the OT winner and everything, I'd say your crazy," Robertson said after the game. "You never know what can happen in this industry and I'm just happy it went my way tonight."
It was a largely uneventful game from both sides until the third period when Robertson helped his team break a 1-1 tie.
Robertson came up with another big moment after his team was on the wrong end of a coach's challenge that allowed for Tyler Seguin's tying goal in regulation to stand, when it was initially waived off for goaltender interference.
Robertson had just two shifts in overtime. The first one was at 1:27 into the session followed by another one at 3:26 where he found Auston Matthews while taking the puck up the ice. Matthews immediately passed the puck back to Robertson, who quickly released the puck and beat Dallas goaltender Scott Wedgewood at 3:46.
"He was feeling it. In fact, I had to talk myself out of putting him out there sooner," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Robertson in OT. "It was a great play by him, but I really loved how the play developed."
The game Nick Robertson presented on Thursday is the one the Maple Leafs had always envisioned for their 2019 second-round NHL Draft pick. He was responsible on the defensive side of things. He delivered hits. But more importantly, he delivered offensively, something they had been waiting for him to do at the NHL level.
It's why he played his first game this season on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. Although he played just 14:24, he did get some power-play time.
As the first unit full of stars struggled to convert on their chances, it was the second unit, that Robertson was a part of, that delivered offensively. Robertson's goal in regulation time came just four seconds after a penalty to Stars forward Mason Marchment had expired.
It was a difficult first four regular season games for the Leafs. They opened with a loss on the road to the Montreal Canadiens. After winning their next two games, they fell to the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
None of those games had Robertson, leaving you to wonder how things might have been different had the Californian played in those first four games.
And while Robertson loves the game, he kept referring to his profession as an "industry" rather than a game. A place where sometimes the decisions aren't fair.
"It's just business, it is what it is with the cap space and people's positions, everyone's different," Robertson said. "Fortunately, I got the call-up and hopefully get to stick here and be an everyday player."
Having just played his 17th NHL regular season game, Robertson will likely be waivers- exempt through this season and a large chunk of next season as he is far below the threshold of 160 games required to need waivers before the 2024-25 season.
But with injury issues facing the Leafs, that shouldn't be a concern for Robertson for possibly months.
And he can just focus on being himself and make himself a required piece of the franchise, waivers exemption be damned.
"I don't want to have just a night," Robertson said. "I want to play well and be consistent and help the team."