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Nicholas Robertson

Maple Leafs Announce Multiple Minor Injuries

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a handful of injuries as they approach their final game. The group is notably led by winger Nicholas Robertson, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury per David Alter of The Hockey News. Robertson has been among Toronto’s biggest standouts this preseason, netting a team-leading three goals through four appearances. Toronto has been vocal about Robertson’s chance to earn more ice time this season, as they look to fill the void left by 20-goal scorer Tyler Bertuzzi, who moved to the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. Robertson has stifled through menial NHL roles for the past three seasons, with the 2023-24 campaign representing his only full year with the Leafs. He’s so far totaled 34 points, split evenly, in 87 career appearances.

Robertson will be joined on the absentee list by defender Jake McCabe (upper-body) and utility forward Calle Jarnkrok (lower-body), who are bearing through day-to-day injuries of their own per a team announcement. Both players have only played in two games this preseason, and neither scored a point.

McCabe proved the healthier of the two in 2023-24, though a groin injury held him out of nine games in the year’s first half. He scored a career-high eight goals and 28 points in his remaining 73 games, while averaging over-20 minutes of ice time for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Jarnkrok’s role wasn’t as substantial, instead spending his time rotating through the team’s third line. He recorded 10 goals and 21 points in 52 games, near-perfectly half of his scoring totals from last year.

All three players seem to be locks for Toronto’s lineup when healthy, plenty of reason to be cautious with just one preseason matchup against Detroit remaining on their calendar. They’ll now each look to heal quickly, in preparation for the Leafs’ season opener against Montreal on October 9th.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Nicholas Robertson

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The Maple Leafs have re-signed restricted free agent winger Nicholas Robertson to a one-year deal worth $875K, per a team announcement.

Robertson, who turns 23 tomorrow, has been the subject of trade rumors ever since a report from Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic on the eve of free agency indicated he’d requested out of Toronto and had “no plans to re-sign with the Leafs this summer.” His name was also briefly mentioned in trade talks last season after a February report that indicated the Leafs were willing to listen to offers for the winger, but he wasn’t moved by the deadline.

As late as two weeks ago, Johnston said Robertson was still hoping to be moved. But last week, Luke Fox of Sportsnet said he wasn’t expecting Robertson to be traded before camp, putting a little bit of cold water on public trade speculation.

There’s still time for that suspicion to be wrong before training camps kick off around the league next week. It’s likely now easier than ever for Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to get a Robertson trade across the finish line, with interested teams now having certainty of his cap hit for 2024-25.

But Robertson could also very well still be a Maple Leaf when opening night rosters are due. Treliving has maintained a positive relationship with Robertson by keeping in contact with him while exploring potential moves this summer, Darren Dreger of TSN reports, adding that new bench boss Craig Berube will help give the young winger a fresh start.

If he does end up sticking around, Robertson has a legitimate chance at a breakout season. While he was no longer technically a rookie, 2023-24 was his first true full NHL campaign. The 2019 second-round pick answered the bell with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 56 games while averaging just 11:23 per game with minimal power play time.

At 5v5, those numbers made Robertson one of the league’s most efficient scorers last season. His 1.34 goals per 60 minutes ranked 17th in the league, putting him on par with stars like Boston’s David Pastrňák and Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor.

There will likely be some regression from last year’s 14.6 shooting percentage in 2024-25, but an increase in ice time and special teams usage under Berube should help negate a drop in point-per-game production. He was on pace for 40 points had he played all 82 games last season, a figure he could very well build upon if he begins to see spot duty in the top six. After Tyler Bertuzzi left for the Blackhawks in free agency and with Matthew Knies expected to get an early crack at first-line duties alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, there’s a second-line spot up for grabs with William Nylander and John Tavares that could be Robertson’s for the taking.

A one-year pact makes Robertson an RFA again next summer, still without arbitration rights. The Maple Leafs now have just over $400K in projected cap space with one open roster spot, per PuckPedia.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the Leafs were expected to announce a deal for Robertson today.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Canadian Notes: Robertson, Perfetti, Demko

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Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson has emerged as a top name on the trade market headed into training camp, following reports that he’s still hoping to start the year on a new team. But Sportsnet’s Luke Fox shared he isn’t expecting the recent momentum to spark a trade before the Leafs kick off camp, citing Robertson’s lack of much negotiating power.

Robertson’s name has floated around trade rumors since last season’s Trade Deadline and peaked with a formal trade request at the start of free agency. But nothing has come together yet, placing Robertson in a mix of young, shoot-first wingers on the trade market, alongside the likes of Arthur Kaliyev (link) and Connor McMichael (link).

Robertson played in his first full NHL season this year, though it only resulted in 56 games and a third-line role. He showed flashes of strong play, ultimately scoring 14 goals and 27 points. That brings his career totals up to 34 points, split evenly, in 87 games – commendable production for a former second-round pick and in line with Kaliyev and McMichael. That lack of distinction might make Robertson a tougher sale so close to the season. That is if the Leafs even choose to fulfill his trade request – which seems growingly unlikely as the team’s brass continues sharing excitement over Robertson’s potential in a growing role.

More notes from around the league:

  • The Winnipeg Jets are one of many teams still negotiating with top RFAs, needing to work out a deal for winger Cole Perfetti after he managed a stout 29 goals and 75 points in 140 NHL games on his entry-level contract. The Athletic’s Murat Ates took to projecting what Perfetti’s next deal could look like given his minimal experience in Winnipeg’s top-six. Ates drew a strong comparison to Ottawa’s negotiations with Shane Pinto, which ultimately ended in a two-year, $7.5MM bridge contract. Pinto also has 140 games of NHL experience and 70 total points, earned while planting his feet as Ottawa’s third-line center. That’s proven a more reliable role than Perfetti’s earned up to this point, though Ates reasoned that the two are comparable enough to earn Perfetti a similar bridge deal.
  • Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has reportedly returned to the ice, shares CHEK Sports’ Rick Dhaliwal, who added that the starting goaltender could be healthy enough to participate in training camp. The Canucks were previously prepared for Demko to sit out of the team’s opening camp as he recovered from a groin injury taking longer than expected to heal. That’s certainly a timely update, with Vancouver recently sharing that Arturs Silovs – Demko’s presumed backup – is also bearing through a lower-body injury. The Canucks have been connected to free agent goaltenders like Kevin Lankinen but could be waiting out Demko’s early steps back before they make any signings official.

Leafs’ Nicholas Robertson Still Hoping To Be Moved

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Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson is still pushing for a move before the season starts, even despite the chance at a growing role in the lineup, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston shared on the latest  ’First Up’ podcast with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo. Robertson has been in trade talks since early February, though it doesn’t seem any discussions have made it far down the line.

Robertson will be entering his fifth professional season in the upcoming year; impressive experience for someone still a few weeks away from age 23. He’s garnered 87 games of NHL experience in that span – and while his performances haven’t been very inspiring, his 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games last season suggested Robertson’s goal-scoring days weren’t all behind him.

His junior career – three years with the Peterborough Petes from 2017 to 2020 – was defined by a dazzling shooting ability. Robertson posted 27 goals and 55 points in 54 games during his draft year, good enough to land 53rd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, even amid concerns about his skating and drive. Robertson quieted critics quickly with an outstanding 55 goals and 86 points in just 46 games in the following season. He’s shown flashes of that scoring ability at the top level, most notably scoring 16 goals and 28 points in 28 games during the 2021-22 AHL season, but the production has been far from consistent.

Part of that can be chalked up to Robertson’s minimal role in the lineup. The 2023-24 campaign was the first time that Robertson averaged over 11 minutes of ice time and the first time that he managed a point on special teams. The Leafs have had the privilege of icing wingers like Michael Bunting and Matthew Knies ahead of Robertson but still haven’t provided their young prospect any favors in his competition for bottom-six minutes. That could be attributed to former head coach Sheldon Keefe, who moved on to the New Jersey Devils. His successor, Craig Berube, could prove a more supportive option after leading the initial success of shoot-first winger Jake Neighbours’ last season – but only if Robertson can hold his own.

Should he return to Toronto, Robertson will step back into competition with players like Knies, Max Domi, and Pontus Holmberg for space on the team’s left wing. That position battle could lead to promising minutes next to Auston Matthews or John Tavares, though Domi and Knies had the advantage of building chemistry with their centers last season. Should Robertson instead be on the move, he’ll be one of the trade market’s only active names entering September and could offer tantalizing upside for teams unhappy with their scoring depth.

17 goals and 34 points in 87 career games should be enough to sway interested teams, especially with the Leafs not in a position to ask for much for a former second-rounder who’s yet to pay off. With Patrik Laine recently traded, it seems Robertson will become the market’s next shoot-first winger looking for greener pastures.

Morning Notes: Maple Leafs, Andersson, Sabres

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Unlike other teams that have recently claimed their offseason checklists are complete, the Maple Leafs are still open for business, general manager Brad Treliving said on TSN 1050 last week. “To me, we’ve still got five weeks or so till camp,” Treliving said. “And, you know, we’re not set yet. We continue to look at ways to make our team better.”

It’s more like four weeks now, but Treliving’s right in that there are still multiple minor moves Toronto intends to make before veterans roll in for training camp. Chief among them is likely finding a home for disgruntled winger Nicholas Robertson, who remains an unsigned RFA after reportedly requesting a trade in June. The 2019 second-round pick finally broke into an everyday role with the Leafs last season after a few years of being relegated to minor-league roles, producing well in a depth role with 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games. That was good enough for 39 points over a full 82-game sample, but his ice time remained limited at 11:23 per game. Going pointless and averaging less than 10 minutes per game in six playoff contests against the Bruins didn’t boost his stock.

That means there’s still an unknown ripple effect on the Leafs’ forward depth. They’ll undoubtedly replace Robertson’s role one way or another, either by recouping a similar player in a swap or making a UFA signing to avoid putting too much pressure on rookies Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten to crack the opening night roster. Doing so would be a tricky fit with the salary cap if injured defenseman Jani Hakanpaa ever puts pen to paper on his reported two-year, $3MM deal, though. As things stand, they only have $1.275MM in space with a roster size of 21, per PuckPedia, which is not enough to be cap-compliant with Hakanpaa on the roster to start the season.

More from around the league:

  • The Flames have been on a major selling spree for the past year, shedding a multitude of veterans as part of a significant roster overhaul. Top-four staple Rasmus Andersson was among the players Calgary was getting calls on before last year’s trade deadline, but they ultimately opted to keep the 27-year-old while trading away Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev instead. Nothing’s really changed on that front this summer, The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie said in a recent mailbag. Andersson isn’t off the trade block entirely, but it’ll take an overwhelmingly valued offer to pry him out of Alberta. He still has two years left on his deal at $4.55MM against the cap and has a six-team no-trade list.
  • Even with the Sabres entering training camp with Bowen Byram in tow for the first time, expect head coach Lindy Ruff to deploy Mattias Samuelsson on the team’s top pairing alongside Rasmus Dahlin to begin the season, writes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. It’s a pairing that previous bench boss Don Granato used with aplomb when Samuelsson was in the lineup, but the promising stay-at-home defender has missed significant chunks of the past two seasons with injuries. With Byram then expected to slot in alongside Owen Power on their second pairing, the Sabres may be the only team in the league without a right-shot defenseman in their top four.

Nicholas Robertson Requests Trade From Toronto

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TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that former second-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nicholas Robertson, has no intentions of signing a contract with the organization this offseason and has requested a trade. Robertson will become a restricted free agent tomorrow as his entry-level contract is set to expire.

Robertson made the full-time jump to the NHL level during the 2020-21 NHL season as he suited up in six games for the Maple Leafs. He only managed one assist at the NHL level and put together a strong performance with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL as he scored 11 goals and 16 points in only 21 contests. The organization gave him another mild chance the following season with 10 games for the Maple Leafs but Robertson once again spent a large part of the season with the Marlies in a year that saw him put up 16 goals and 28 points in 28 games.

It would not be until this past season that Toronto would give Robertson a longer look with the Original Six franchise. Robertson didn’t disappoint either as he scored 14 goals and 27 points for the Maple Leafs in 56 games while only averaging around 11 and a half minutes a night.

All signs indicate that Robertson is disgruntled with the Maple Leafs organization inconsistently shuffling him back and forth from the minors to stay under the salary cap. The 22-year-old still has considerable promise at the NHL level and believes he has earned a larger role with an organization than Toronto is willing to give. Given his age and the fact he will not demand too much as an RFA, Robertson should have plenty of suitors on the trade market willing to give him an established role in the NHL.

Maple Leafs Promote Nicholas Robertson

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The Maple Leafs have brought young winger Nicholas Robertson back up to the NHL roster ahead of Thursday’s game in Philadelphia, a team announcement states. Toronto only has $344K remaining in its LTIR salary pool, which is not enough to accommodate Robertson’s $797K cap hit, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction later today to remain cap-compliant. That transaction will likely transfer defenseman Mark Giordano from IR to LTIR, per CapFriendly.

Robertson, 22, was sent down to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies earlier this month after the activation of Calle Järnkrok off LTIR and the acquisition of Ilya Lyubushkin created a roster crunch. At the time, head coach Sheldon Keefe informed Robertson it wouldn’t be a lengthy stay in the minors, and the organization has stayed true to its word.

The 2019 second-round pick has demonstrated the consistency necessary to remain in consideration for a full-time job on the playoff-bound Leafs. The younger brother of Stars star winger Jason Robertson has eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points in 41 games this season while averaging 11:22 per game, all of which are career highs. Robertson, who recorded 11 points in nine games with AHL Toronto to kick off the season, did not suit up with the Marlies during this brief reassignment.

The California-born winger has posted solid possession during his limited even-strength minutes, posting a 50.3 CF% and a 52.7 xGF%, which are close to team averages. He’s averaged a little north of 30 seconds per game on the power play and remains only a depth option on special teams behind Toronto’s loaded arsenal of star power.

Robertson comes up to the active roster as winger Mitch Marner remains absent from practice after missing this weekend’s win over the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, per Mark Masters of TSN. He remains listed as day-to-day after falling awkwardly after a scoring chance against the Bruins in the second period of a loss last Thursday.

Giordano, 40, has missed five games with a concussion sustained on Feb. 29 against the Coyotes. Placing him on LTIR means he won’t return until March 24 against the Hurricanes at the soonest, assuming the placement is retroactive to when he sustained the injury.

Robertson is in the final season of his entry-level deal and will be an RFA this summer. He does not have arbitration rights but is eligible to be offer-sheeted.

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