The Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson have settled their arbitration case, agreeing on a one-year, $1.825 million contract for next season.
With the deal, the two sides have avoided an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Sunday. Robertson's signing was the latest important piece of business completed by Leafs' general manager, Brad Treliving.
The signing leaves the Maple Leafs with just under $2 million in salary cap space. While tighter against the cap, Treliving and the Leafs have secured a young, high-upside forward to a team-friendly deal.
The Maple Leafs have yet to find a bona fide top-six forward to fill Mitch Marner's shoes, but they remain loaded with star power. Robertson's deal is a shrewd move that could prove pivotal for several reasons.
Robertson's contract could be one of the best in the NHL
Robertson has scored twenty-nine goals over his past two seasons with the Leafs while playing fewer than seventy games in both years. Twenty-six of those goals came at even-strength, while averaging between eleven and twelve minutes of ice time.
For each of those two seasons, he has predominantly played a third or fourth-line role, while occasionally missing games as a healthy scratch. He has yet to earn an extended run with similarly skilled, offensive players among the team's top two lines.
Robertson's floor is a continuation of the last two seasons, playing within the bottom-six forwards and netting somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen goals. His ceiling is earning a job within the top two lines, playing with the team's top players, and possibly scoring twenty to twenty-five goals.
Repeating his past two seasons at a $1.875 million AAV makes Robertson's contract one of the best on the Leafs. Scoring twenty-plus goals at that salary, while earning an increased role, would make his deal one of the best across the entire league.
Treliving Finding Optimal Ground in Signings
Robertson's signing is the latest example of Treliving finding optimal ground for both the team and the player. The Maple Leafs' GM did the same with the earlier offseason signings of John Tavares and Matthew Knies.
Treliving has set an important precedent with his player signings. Players will be compensated appropriately for their efforts, but not to the detriment of the team.
By reaching an agreement and avoiding an arbitration hearing with Robertson, neither the Leafs nor the player should harbor any animosity when the season begins. Treliving moved closer to Robertson's arbitration ask of $2.25 million than the Leafs' counteroffer of $1.25 million. Any potential negative fallout from arbitration has been circumvented.
Treliving and the Maple Leafs have astutely made a low-risk, potential high-reward move that gives the team another candidate to fight for a top-six role. Given the lack of other offseason opportunities, Treliving's patient, measured approach is the correct course of action.