Nick Robertson’s days with the Toronto Maple Leafs may be numbered, and it is becoming more painfully obvious as the season has progressed.
Entering the offseason as a pending RFA, Robertson opted to request a trade due to a lack of playing time and seeking a fresh start. A stalemate ensued throughout the summer, which ended in Robertson inking a one-year extension at a cap hit of $875K in early September. It was a chance for Robertson to prove himself and take full advantage of an opportunity to fork his claim as an everyday player in the middle-six.
Nearly three months later, the ground underneath Robertson’s feet is more shakier than ever before with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
To be fair, he has been mired in a lengthy scoring drought with no goals in his last 12 games despite generating plenty of scoring chances. But at the same time, Robertson has just one goal through the first 19 games of the regular season, with that lone tally coming in garbage time against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 22nd. This is a results-based business and the lack of offence from a player who has one of the better releases on the team will not cut it.
The Leafs’ lack of consistent secondary scoring has yet again been an area of concern for the team and Robertson has not helped ease those concerns. It is especially concerning that he has failed to seize the moment and cement his spot on the team amid injuries to over half of the team’s regular forwards in recent weeks.
Robertson’s playing style has not been a great fit in Craig Berube’s system, which has more of an emphasis on dump-and-chase and forechecking, whereas Robertson thrives on rush chances. When he does get the puck, there have been too many instances this season when Robertson appears timid going for the shot, his decision-making with the puck has remained inconsistent, and his shot selection has not been good enough for a sniper.
The most egregious example was during Wednesday’s game against the Florida Panthers, where instead of differing to a wide-open William Nylander, Robertson opted to fire a backhander that was easily stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky. He may have had two defenders closing in on him but his decision to look off the team’s leading goal scorer is a questionable one, no matter how you slice it.
backhand shot from Robertson off the rush pic.twitter.com/3GT8nSZRTH
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 28, 2024
To his credit, Robertson has improved defensively this season and has showcased a tenacity to win puck battles despite his smaller stature. It has helped make him the team’s leader in penalties drawn with nine so far this season. He is certainly trying to mould his game into the playing style that Berube is trying to get the Leafs to implement and that helped him secure a spot on the team at the start of the regular season. It’s why his new coach has supported him publicly even if the offence has not followed suit.
“I thought Nicky had a good game,” Berube said after Sunday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club. “He worked extremely hard. He was in the right spots defensively. He did his job. He had some looks, but they didn’t go in. He just has to stick with it. It is going to go in eventually for him. We all feel for him. We want him to put the puck in the net.
But having a public vote of confidence from your coach can only take you so far. At the end of the day, what matters is getting the results in the offensive end and Robertson has yet to do that to this point.
Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin, who both combined for four career NHL games played prior to their recent call-ups, have been more noticeable in their shared three games, proving they can be steady contributors sooner than expected. More concerning for Robertson is that Minten, Grebenkin and Alex Nylander have each gotten looks on the top power-play unit over him recently.
Once the team gets healthy, Minten and Grebenkin can safely go back down to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies because they are waiver exempt but the same can’t be said for Nylander and Alex Steeves. The latter two have been valued by the Leafs as quality depth options and they would therefore be concerned that one or both of them would not be able to pass through waivers. That means Robertson is put squarely back in the crosshairs and the question of where things stand will only increase in volume.
But really, the answer has been made obvious for quite some time: the Leafs need to move on from him.
Robertson’s playstyle does not mesh well with the system that Berube is trying to implement, he is being outshined by younger forwards more inexperienced than he is, and he has not helped ease concerns about the Leafs’ lack of scoring depth. His shot selection has been poor which is exacerbated by the fact he has had 12 games this season with just one shot on goal. He may have been primarily paired with players not as potent offensively, but those issues have been persistent when slotted up in the top six alongside far more skilled players.
Even when he finally ends his scoring drought, it will not change the fact that Robertson and the Leafs need to go their separate ways. It would be in Brad Treliving’s best interest to extract some value while there is still some to bring back a player who will better mesh with the system and provide him with a fresh start.
Robertson may be on borrowed time with the Leafs right now and the returning regulars will only further cement the reality that he could soon be in for a change of scenery.
