The Toronto Maple Leafs should re-sign Nick Robertson and give him one more chance to prove himself this season.
It's crazy how quickly narratives change. Prior to the pandemic, Nick Robertson was the unanimous number-one prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After scoring 55 goals in his last year of junior hockey, the former No. 53 overall draft pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft looked like the biggest steal of the draft.
In a draft class that had Kaapo Kakko, Jack Hughes, Dylan Cozens and Cole Caufield, a few people predicted that Robertson would be right up there with those talents, but instead, he hasn't even lived up to newly acquired Leafs forward Matias Maccelli, who was drafted No. 98 overall that same draft.
I know that nothing is given in the NHL, but it still feels like Robertson hasn't been utilized enough to excel. In 156 NHL games, Robertson has only averaged 11:28 TOI, but still was able to score 15 goals last year. Of the 33 skaters who played for the team last year, Robertson averaged the 26th most ice-time, but finished seventh on the team in goals.
After losing Mitch Marner, who scored 27 goals last year, you would think that the Leafs would love to keep some offense and Robertson can be that player if they give him another chance.
Leafs should re-sign Nick Robertson ASAP
As an undersized left-winger, Robertson needs to play top-six minutes to excel. Although Robertson used his body a lot more last year, as he generated a career-high 79 hits, he is still best suited as a goal-scorer playing with elite talent.
There is no denying his shot and I truly believe that he would be a 25-30 goal scorer if he played alongside William Nylander every night. Nylander is an elite scorer, but he is also an incredible playmaker, so having that Hockey IQ beside him would be huge.
Not only that, but Robertson is still going to be a cheap contract and I think will still garner some trade value midseason if it fails again. Robertson kind of feels like the definition of "good player on a bad team" and someone who will eventually be great if he's given the keys to the car.
Besides Auston Matthews, nobody has a better release than him and the Leafs should try and utilize him more often this year. If the team ultimately decides to move on, this could be one of the biggest busts in team history, as the hype was so high.
Personally, I'm not giving up on a 23-year-old player who scored more than a goal-per-game in junior, so hopefully the Leafs don't as well and Craig Berube gives him the top-six minutes he deserves.