Why Wouldn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs Start Nick Robertson?

The biggest storyline for the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into the post-season was whether not Nick Robertson would play and I can’t figure out why.

Nick Robertson in the line-up helps the Toronto Maple Leafs more than any other player that could replace him.

I could have understood the debate at the beginning of next season on whether or not Robertson should be in the line-up, but at this current stage, there’s no better option.

If Andreas Johnsson was healthy enough to play, we wouldn’t be having this debate, but he’s not.

There Shouldn’t Be a Debate At Who Plays Third-Line Left-Wing

Let’s take a look at the other wingers (regardless of left or right side) that could replace Robertson, not named Johnnson.

Nic Petan

Petan has played 129 career NHL games, but only 34 in the past two seasons. At 25-years-old, it’s pretty clear the type of player that Petan is.

He’s a tweener.

What that exactly means is that he’s too good for the American Hockey League, but not quite strong enough for the National Hockey League. At 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, he’s able to get away with a few more things in the AHL compared to NHL, and over the past few seasons he’s been been an exceptional AHL-player.

Averaging over a point-per-game in his past two AHL seasons, Petan is the type of player that will be a career AHLer if he plays in Toronto’s system for a while, because their forward depth is so good. In order for him to become an everyday NHL player, he’ll have to do so on a below-average team.

In my opinion, if things go well, he could be on a similar career path as Brendan Leipsic (who’s name I hate to say, because of the disgusting things he said) from a hockey-perspective.

Leipsic was a very good AHL-player but could never crack the Toronto Maple Leafs roster but the expansion draft kick-started his NHL career, and before we found out he was a terrible person, was playing very well in Washington this year.

No offense to Petan, but we already know the type of player he is, and Robertson is a better fit than him for the playoffs.

Denis Malgin

We all know Kyle Dubas loves undersized players, and Malgin fits that mold perfectly.

Listed at 5-foot-9 (just like Robertson) and only a few pounds heavier, Malgin is a very similar type of player as Robertson body-wise.

Traded from Florida in the Mason Marchment deal earlier this year, Malgin only appeared in eight regular season games before the stoppage. Although he didn’t register a point in those eight games, he was a serviceable player.

He only had three shots on net in those eight games, so it’s pretty hard to score when you’re barely shooting the puck. With an above average career shooting percentage of 10.8 percent, Malgin’s always been known as a player that doesn’t shoot the puck enough, and you can’t have that on this third-line.

Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen can generate offense on a line, but in order for them to be even more successful, they could use a pure-sniper on the wing with them, and Malgin just isn’t that player.

Malgin is a good depth player and if injuries come up, he can jump in the line-up and not make mistakes, whereas Robertson could be a difference-maker.

Robertson Is Hands-Down the Best Option

I’m not saying that Robertson is is going to register a point every night, but he’s a great option to replace Johnsson.

You don’t score over 50 goals in the Ontario Hockey League by accident, so Robertson knows how to score and has a very high Hockey IQ. Just look at his hard work below, en route to a Alex Kerfoot goal. He’s already fitting in nicely.

It shocked me that people actually debated and argued at whether or not Robertson should make the Leafs roster and play. I mean, would you rather have Malgin or Petan instead of the upside of Robertson?

It’s not even a debate in my opinion.

Also, it’s not like we’re debating the first-line or top power-play. We’re talking about a third-line player that’s going to play anywhere between 10-13 minutes a night. The Toronto Maple Leafs could put a pylon on this line and have more than enough offense, but when you have the ability to add more fire-power, you do it.

I’m not expecting the world from the 18-year-old, but I am excited to see him play. Maybe he can pull off some rookie-magic with an over-time goal like his line-mate Kapanen did during his first playoffs as well.