Once again, Nick Robertson heads into the offseason uncertain about his future as a Toronto Maple Leaf.
Robertson’s been through the ringer since being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, and after another inconsistent season as a Leaf, and without a contract extension heading into the summer, and a general manager for that matter, the pesky winger was very non-committal with some recent comments.
“I’m gonna, not gonna take a deep dive in my future. I don’t know what my future holds,” stated Robertson
via The Hockey News’ David Alter. “But I will say, that everyone here has been unbelievable with me. For my family, for me, guys here this year, I love these guys”.
Robertson enters the summer as a restricted free agent, and concludes on a season which saw Craig Berube use him all over the Leafs’ lineup. Frankly, Robertson wasn’t given a fair shot at consistent ice time, especially considering how much his game has evolved in all three zones, and how much of Craig Berube’s two-way and physical focus Robertson’s added to his repertoire.
Robertson averaged just 12:39 of ice-time, which ranks him 13th for Maple Leafs forwards who dressed this season. Yes, behind Bo Groulx, and even Luke Haymes, who dressed in four games down the stretch. Robertson dressed in 78 games, which was a career high, and so too were his 16 goals and 16 assists. He saw limited time on the Leafs’ second power-play unit, and looking ahead to next season, there’s certainly a wealth of questions that need to be answered off the ice, as a retool is coming for the Maple Leafs.
A reminder that Robertson asked for a trade last summer and Brad Treliving didn’t grant his wish, so Robertson is no stranger to offseason trade speculation. With the Maple Leafs needing to reshape their blueline, find Auston Matthews a right winger, and in need of a third-line centre, there’s certainly a ton of probability that Robertson could be used as a trade chip to help fill in one of these gaps. It’s no secret the Leafs don’t have a ton of trade assets, so Robertson may actually be in their top-three pieces to dangle in conversations, as at 24 years old, there’s still some untapped potential to his game.
The Maple Leafs head into the summer with a number of questions to answer and a lot of work ahead for the new management regime. Regardless if it’s Mats Sundin and Mike Gillis running the show, or a completely different setup, they’ll have Robertson’s future to consider within their first few weeks on the job.
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