Fraser Minten can save assets for defense trade + give Nick Robertson a chance

The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled one of their top prospects yesterday, summoning Fraser Minten from the Toronto Marlies .

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been woefully - even embarrassingly - thin at centre. Even with a healthy Auston Matthews, the Leafs do not have a 3C of quality on the roster. Enter Fraser Minten, who may not be great, but is better than any of the other options.

David Kampf has been placed on the IR and no offense to him, but he should never play on the Leafs again - he can't score, can't play above the fourth line, and is one of the NHL's most expensive fourth liners. The fact that Treliving re-signed him last year was a joke from day one and it never should have happened - as we wrote the second it happened.

Nothing in the intervening time has changed our mind - Kampf needs to go. Sorry it took an injury to make it happen, but bringing up Minten is great news for the Leafs. He has maybe more offensive upside than originally thought, and we know he's not going to be any worse than Kampf, Domi or Holmberg, all of whom have failed spectacularly at the 3C position.

The best part of Minten being recalled is that if he is successful, which I predict he will be, the Leafs won't need to spend assets to trade for a 3C and can instead use all their assets to improve where they really need it: the blue-line. This team's "missing piece" is a number-one defenseman, and they are going to need all their assets to get one, so hopefully Minten can contribute enough to make trading for Nazem Kadri unnecessary.

Fraser Minten can save assets for defense trade + give Nick Robertson a chance

I don't know why I always hear so many Leafs fans complain about Nick Robertson. Sure, it would be nice if he lived up to his potential and provided the secondary scoring that we know he can, but he is only 23 and he has no salary cap hit to speak of.

When a player has potential, but no long-term contract, no cap-hit and no trade value, there is nothing to be gained from moving him, and a lot to be gained from keeping him.

Worst case scenario in keeping him: he fails and gets sent to the AHL.

Best case scenario in keeping him: he finally starts scoring at the 40 goal pace we know he's perfectly capable of scoring at.

But if you trade him, you don't get anything but a lottery ticket. Nick Robertson has an injury history that makes him essentially valueless on the trade market. Keeping him is easily the value-play for the Leafs.

Most importantly, however is this: Nick Robertson is winning his minutes, even if he's not scoring. And he's not scoring because his three most common linemates are Pontus Holmberg, Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins. Auston Matthews would have trouble scoring if those were his most common linemates.

The Toronto Maple Leafs would be wise to give Nick Robertson a real chance before bailing on him.