Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Nick Robertson Unlikely to Receive Offer Sheet
The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to re-sign or trade restricted free-agent (RFA) forward Nick Robertson, and after what happened between the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers, losing Robertson to an offer sheet is a real possibility...just not a likely one.
The 22-year-old Robertson has requested a trade, but Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is being patient, but training camp is a few weeks away. An offer sheet remains a possibility, but keep in mind, even with St. Louis doing two last week, offer sheets in the NHL are extremely rare.
Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are all ahead of Robertson on the depth chart and figure to be the Leafs top-six wingers. Young prospect Easton Cowan isn't far behind either, and there is also Bobby McMann and Calle Jarnkrok, so Robertson will need a great training camp to even secure a roster spot, and even then it might not be the opportunity he wants.
The best thing for the Leafs and Robertson could be to sever ties and give him a change of scenery - hence the trade request.
Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Nick Robertson Unlikely to Receive Offer Sheet
Though unlikely, Robertson could be an offer sheet target from many teams around the NHL, particularly those in a rebuild with plenty of cap space. He is 12 days older than Holloway and has 17 goals and 34 points through 87 career games. Holloway, who received a two-year deal worth $2.29 million a season, has nine goals and 18 points through 89 games. With the Leafs having $1.275 million in available cap space, it wouldn't take much for a team to put Robertson out of the Leafs price range. (All stats from hockey-reference.com) (Salary cap info from puckpedia.com)
The Leafs current forward group does not offer Robertson much in terms of ice time at five-on-five or the power play, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing: why should ice time be gifted to anyone? If he's the player he thinks he is, he should have no problem winning a job over one of the Leafs incumbents.
Robertson could get plenty of both on a rebuilding team. Robertson has proven throughout his time with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and Peterborough Petes (OHL) that he has great offensive abilities. He registered 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points through 56 games last season. Surely, someone other than the Leafs will show some interest.
The San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks can offer Robertson the chance to play closer to his hometown of Pasadena, California. Both teams have plenty of cap space, and adding Robertson shouldn't be difficult. Another team not too far from Pasadena is the Utah HC.
One interesting option would be the Dallas Stars. They are not a rebuilding team, but they have over $6 million in salary cap space, and they can offer Robertson a chance to play on the same team as his older brother, Jason Robertson.
As for teams from the Eastern Conference, I think the New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings seem like a good fit for Robertson. Something is bound to happen over the next few weeks as I'm sure Robertson and the Leafs would like to resolve things before the season starts.
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Yet with all that said, Robertson is a player who is 22 and hasn't established himself as an NHL regular and who has had a bunch of injuries. He just doens't have much trade value, and it seems like he would have more value to the Leafs than to any other team. Treliving has already said he expects him at training camp so it will be interesting to see what happens.