The Toronto Maple Leafs scratched Nick Robertson on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers,, which could signify the end of his career in the blue-and-white.
Instead of keeping the Nick Robertson-Max Domi-Bobby McMann third-line together, which has been working well, the Craig Berube decided to scratch Robertson in-exchange for Ryan Reaves.
I can justify the decision because the head coach wanted to add a physical player to intimidate Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway, who had injured Jake McCabe in the previous game. (Though Reaves proved to be useless in the game, not fighting and actually scoring on his own net).
As much as I don't think Reaves should play every night, especially in the playoffs, his presence is still needed in the game of hockey. I know it sounds dumb that adding a tough-guy who plays five minutes per night, who probably won't even fight, scares a bunch of grown men, but it's just how it works in the sport and I'm totally fine with it.
However, the one thing that I am not fine with is the decision to scratch Robertson ahead of Reaves. Conor Dewar had a fight and made an impact against the Flyers on Tuesday, but I really thought the team would have scratched him and kept that nice third-line together, but clearly, Berube had other thoughts.
By scratching Robertson, it signals to me that he's not going to get a lot of playoff minutes and the team is gearing up for a change on that third-line. There have been a ton of rumors floating around the Leafs acquiring a third-line centre and if they do that, it'll most likely push Domi to the wing and Robertson out of the line-up, as McMann isn't going anywhere.
Toronto Maple Leafs Should Reunite Nick With His Brother Jason
So what does this mean for Robertson?
I'd love to see him given a top-six chance over Max Pacioretty and potentially rotate those two in-and-out of the line-up every night, but if that doesn't happen, I think this means that a Robertson trade is looming. He's still a young forward with a ton of potential, but unfortunately it is unlikely that he has much trade value.
If the Leafs flip Robertson, I think it would be best for his career to wind up on the Dallas Stars, playing alongside his brother Jason. The Stars are a great team, but have a few aging forwards, which is where Robertson could fit in, mostly making an impact next year.
Trading Robertson to the Stars would be about giving him a new place to succeed and getting some assets to use in other trades. Robertson is unlikely to bring back a 2nd rounder (which is where he was selected) but he might be able to bring in a couple of lower picks that the Leafs can use at the deadline.
The Leafs have thrown away a lot of mid-range picks in recent years, mostly wasting them on the likes of Ilya Lyubushkin, so getting a couple back would be very helpful at this point.