Alex Kerfoot – Joe Thornton – Nick Robertson
If Nick Robertson does make the team, this is exactly where he will be slotted. However, there is a very important word in that sentence – “if.” As it stands right now, CapFriendly shows the Toronto Maple Leafs as just over the upper cap limit by $1.05 million with a 23-man roster. In order to become cap compliant by opening night, GM Kyle Dubas is going to be forced to send a forward down to the AHL.
The likely candidates are Jimmy Vesey, Travis Boyd, and Robertson, but of the three, only Robertson is waiver-exempt. The Leafs would risk losing either Vesey or Boyd to waivers should they go with one of those two players, making it more likely Kyle Dubas opts to send down Robertson.
I am also assuming there is no OHL season this year. Currently, the NHL and the CHL have a developmental agreement in place which states, “a signed player aged 18 or 19 who was claimed from a CHL club and is not retained by the NHL club, must be assigned to the CHL junior club whom he last played for or owes a contractual obligation.” (source; NHL.com).
This essentially means with Robertson being 19-years old, in a regular year, his only options would be the OHL or the NHL. In that case, Robertson has nothing left to prove in juniors, forcing the Leafs to keep him on their roster.
If there is no OHL, Robertson could be assigned to the Marlies, or possible go to Europe to play in game and return in 2021-22 ready to make a full-time push.