Toronto Maple Leafs should tell ungrateful brat to hit the road
By James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Nick Robertson in the second-round and he had a magnificent post-draft season and found himself playing in the NHL Playoffs a year after being drafted.
Robertson was eligible for the 2019 draft by days and was the youngest player taken that year. Had he been just a few days younger, he'd have been a top ten pick in the 2020 draft, so he was considered a complete steal for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fast forward to now and he's been an injury riddled mess who has been unable to capitalize on his talent and opportunity, and he's apparently blamed the organization for that and decided he doesn't want to sign here and has requested a trade.
Toronto Maple Leafs should tell ungrateful brat to hit the road
It came out today when Insider Chris Johnson said on TSN Radio that Robertson was "sticking to his guns" and unlikely to recant his trade request.
Considering the Leafs have a new coach, and a ton of opportunity for Robertson to grab some minutes this seems extremely misguided. Further considering how lucky anyone is to get a chance to suit up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and I'd be inclined to question this kid's character and ship him out the first chance I got.
I don't mind if players ask for a trade, if they've earned it. Robertson is 22 and has not earned anything. He can score over a point per game in the AHL, has an elite shot and an elite motor, and should be a quality NHL player. But right now, he isn't.
In fact, if he doesn't have a 40 goal season in the NHL, he will be the first player in history to score as much as he did in the OHL, at the age he did it, who didn't have one. It's clear Robertson is an awesome talent, but given his injury history and the fact he's asking for a trade, I'd just bail on him.
Getting to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs is an honour. Getting to play on the same team as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner makes it just about the best situation you could find yourself in. Robertson clearly is either getting terrible advice or he's got an over inflated sense of his own worth. Either way, the Leafs shouldn't have any time for this.
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If he doesn't want to be here, get someone who does. If he can't see the opportunity here to form a secondary scoring unit with Knies, McMann and Cowan then that's on him. At this point Robertson seems like an ungrateful brat and the Leafs should just wash their hands of anything to do with him. I'd tell him to have fun in San Jose and then trade him there for a seventh rounder.