3 Potential Trade Options for Nicholas Robertson – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

Despite signing a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Frank Seravalli is reporting that Nicholas Robertson may still be traded and may not be a member of training camp. The 23-year-old requested a trade after a contract dispute at the end of June, but the two sides reached an agreement for an $875,000 fee. Robertson, in some ways, feels like he’s entitled to more playing time than he was given during Sheldon Keefe’s tenure as head coach.

There aren’t many teams that would give him a top six opportunity that they think he deserves, which begs the question of how good he can be. There is, in fact, interest from other teams in acquiring the disgruntled left wing, so it’s possible the Maple Leafs could find a suitor who would be just as valuable. Robertson isn’t expected to be a top-six player in Toronto given Bobby McMann’s breakout performance last season, even if Robertson it was the superior talent between the two and was able to take away McMann’s chances in the mind, both sides obviously relying on the same departure anyway. Let’s take a look at three teams that could find opportunities for Robertson and give the Maple Leafs enough pay in return.

The Montreal Canadiens

It might seem like a bad idea to send a disgruntled young skater with a fairly high ceiling to be your biggest rival, but it really makes sense for the staff and the viewing opportunity. The Canadiens have been busy in the offseason, acquiring stud goaltender Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a bargain price, indicating they are looking to accelerate their rebuild while taking care of assets. Their starting lineup is set in stone, with Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield likely to be lumped together for the foreseeable future. Their second line, which currently features Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, and Laine, has room for improvement on the left side, however. That’s nothing against Newhook — who’s proven he’s capable of middle-of-the-six minutes — but Robertson may have developed where the Canadiens’ front office would be remiss to ignore. Moving Newhook to the third line will also greatly improve the team’s deep scoring abilities.

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The Maple Leafs should look to improve their bottom-six depth and possibly find some draft money to use at the 2025 Trade Deadline. To be honest, the Canadiens’ depth pieces aren’t anything to write home about, but they do boast a few players who should be considered upgrades to the Maple Leafs’ fourth line. In particular, Joel Armia would be a nice addition, far surpassing the two-way skills of the likes of Ryan Reaves, who is currently the fourth right tackle in the lineup. The 31-year-old Armia ranks in the 57th percentile in offensive goals above turnover (GAR) and 96th in defensive GAR, according to Evolving Hockey. If I were Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, Robertson’s asking price would start at Armia and an early draft pick between the third and fifth rounds.

San Jose Sharks

Things are not looking good in San Jose right now, as the Sharks have been one of the worst teams in the NHL for many seasons with no real end in sight. For now, they should look to build around their rising stars in Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Yaroslav Askarov. Stud prospects Quentin Musty and Sam Dickinson may have appeared in the NHL this season, but the point is they are nowhere near being Cup contenders and could use all the young talent in the world to build a competitive core. Robertson is also an exception to this rule, and could easily slot in as the second-season left tackle behind Eklund, pushing Mikael Granlund to the third line at the time.

In adding Robertson to their roster, the Sharks would be providing Smith — a rising star and potential second-line center of the future — a scorer who finished among the league’s best in goals per 60 minutes (Robertson was 78th in the NHL in this metric.) to fill their punch. potentially lethal 1-2 down the middle is essential to their success, and doing so with players who fit their profile as a young team rarely improves their potential success in a few years. .

As for acquisition costs, again, there isn’t much to look at in San Jose in terms of deep talent, but they certainly have the money to make it work without giving up a roster player in return. I would say that their 2025 second round pick should be enough value and could give the Maple Leafs another asset they could use to get something bigger at the trade deadline.

Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks find themselves in the same spot as the Sharks, though their prospect pool — which is still good — has been hit harder than the Sharks and may have a slightly lower ceiling at this point. However, they boast one of the best young teams in the league with Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish leading their top two lines. In their defense, Owen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Stian Solberg talk about their new title. They have Cutter Gauthier, Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, and Beckett Sennecke to build on the wings in the future, but they currently have an open spot on the second line currently in veteran Alex Killorn. While Killorn isn’t going anywhere unless he’s traded — he’s entering the second season of a four-year deal — he’s probably better suited for third-line duties with the young forward taking over in the top-six to develop alongside his junior. new institutions.

The Maple Leafs are not the need to add to the defense after greatly improving their blue line this offseason, but Radko Gudas should be a name on their radar regardless. A tough, physical defenseman with very impressive stats on both offense and defense. Perhaps the two sides could come together in a multi-player deal that sees Robertson and Jake McCabe head to Anaheim in exchange for Radko Gudas and a few draft picks in the third through fifth rounds.

Maple Leafs Can Improve Depth In Robertson Trade

With such a weak fourth line, the Maple Leafs should look to find players who will provide deep scoring skills in addition to draft capital that they can use later as trade bait. Sure, keeping Robertson would lead to a line release that could improve the depth of the bottom six, but if he doesn’t want to be a part of the team, Toronto is better off sending him somewhere else where he won’t be in net. -negative in the entrance room. If they want to be successful in the postseason, they won’t have players who don’t want to be in the role they are assigned to do and it would be much better if they move those who don’t fit the team’s plan to those who will satisfy their needs. Robertson is no exception to this rule, and it would be a win-win to get him out while stockpiling deep talent that could help in the downs and into the playoffs.