5 Observations on the Toronto Maple Leafs Six Game Winning Streak

It Would Be Idiotic to Trade Nick Robertson

I've been saying this to anyone who would listen all season long.

Nick Robertson's shot and motor make him an NHL player. He might just end up being a star. There is no way the Leafs should consider trading a player with this much potential and this little trade value.

Other teams are not lining up to acquire an injury-prone prospect who has only just now put together his first long streak of pro games without suffering an injury.

In addition to having almost no trade value, Nick Robertson doesn't make very much money and can almost certainly be re-signed on the cheap.

I swear most people don't even think about the salary cap implications before they decide a player isn't becoming a star fast enough for them.

Just look at Timothy Liljegren, who is finally breaking out. Almost everyone who wants to trade Robertson would have traded him by now too.

Having contributing players on cheap salaries makes such a difference and pays off so much that it's hard to explain how much without going down an insane road of hyperbole and exaggeration.

In a salary cap world, a guy like Nick Robertson, who is scoring at a first line rate (when adjusted for how often he plays) is invaluable. The fact that if Marner or Nylander goes down the Leafs have a first-line offensive talent waiting in the wings helps too.

And you're going to flip this for a depth defender who would need a full 82 games just to be worth one win more than Simon Benoit? Come on.

Outside of the Core Four and Morgan Rielly, the two untouchable players on the Leafs roster are Timothy Liljegren and Nick Robertson. It's important for the Leafs to keep them, and to avoid trading for players that will block them.