It’s no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs have some serious internal competition among their forwards. It’s a good problem to have for Leafs’ head coach Craig Berube, however, some tough decisions are needed, game in and game out. Berube made his first one recently, making Max Pacioretty a healthy scratch Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Pacioretty was the odd man out with John Tavares returning from illness.
The next odd man out? It could be Nick Robertson.
After another preseason where Robertson was absolutely dominant, and carrying the Leafs’ offense, he hasn’t necessarily come out firing to start the season. Actually, he’s yet to sniff the scoresheet. That doesn’t mean he has been awful through four games, but he certainly hasn’t been as effective as many hoped.
For the most part, Berube appears to appreciate Robertson’s compete level, his work ethic, his willingness to battle, especially for his size, and his ability to hunt pucks. All aspects of the 23-year-old’s game that he’s put a lot of work into throughout the summer, and it does show. But, unfortunately, there hasn’t been much else to write home about.
The shifty winger has been playing third-line minutes, averaging 12:50 of ice time under Berube, and has been given some reps on the Leafs’ second power-play unit. He’s playing 1:30 more per game than when Sheldon Keefe was running the bench last season. More opportunity under Berube so far, which is what Robertson was hoping for once all the trade buzz went away towards the end of the offseason, but unfortunately, the results haven’t come early on.
Through four games Robertson has five shots on goal, but only two of them have been in the ‘high-danger’ zone, in front of the net. The majority of his early looks this year have come from the outside. Robertson’s expected goals through the first two weeks of the season is 0.2, which ranks him second last on the Leafs, ahead of only Ryan Reaves.
Berube has tough decisions on his hands
Moving guys in and out of the lineup is no easy task, however, Berube will have to navigate things over the next couple of weeks, with more Leafs’ forwards becoming available to play. As Berube stated after taking out Pacioretty against the Kings, he makes the decision, and moves on, as it’s all part of the territory.
“It’s just a decision I made. That’s it,” Berube said.
“There’s no message. We have guys, we have extra players, and not everybody can play every night, that’s the bottom line. He’s been fine when he’s played, but I gotta make decisions as a coach, and I’m gonna make those decisions what I think is best for the team.”
More tough decisions are on the way. Bobby McMann was lights out against the Kings, scoring twice, and has done enough early on to secure a much longer leash than Robertson. The fourth line of Steven Lorentz, Ryan Reaves and David Kampf has been absolutely solid to start the new campaign, so for now, it likely gets some more run.
Matthew Knies continues to get a look on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and although he just has one goal so far, he’s been strong, especially with his attention to detail defensively, and has contributed nicely on both sides of special teams for Berube.
Pontus Holmberg is someone to watch as a potential odd man out at some point. Again, nothing against Holmberg and his defensive style, it’s just he’s not contributing offensively, and the Leafs have other players who can kill penalties. Put it this way, he’s had a great start, but he’s no lock at this point. Not many forwards are.
Fraser Minten returned to the ice recently and is likely headed for a conditioning stint with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, once he’s ready to go. At this point, he’s a long shot to crack the lineup, but certainly another option for Berube to consider. Calle Jarnkrok and Connor Dewar continue to rehab their injuries and will be putting their names in the mix in the coming weeks.
As for Robertson, he needs to clean up his game a little bit. If he’s a shooter, keep shooting, and from in tight, because so far everything’s been to the outside, and his game hasn’t been good enough. Berube has extremely high expectations for his hockey club, and while Toronto’s off to a good start, the coach’s work is never done. It’s become a numbers game up front early on this season, and for Robertson, it could become familiar territory as the odd man out. At least, for now.
