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Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign Nick Robertson (1 year, $875k)

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I'm glad he's putting in that bit of extra effort defensively, because that's what will endear him to the coaching staff and give him the fresh start he's looking for. Excited to see what he can do this year. Hope they give him plenty of opportunities on the powerplay.

Man, he's an unusual player to watch skate though... not a criticism, but it looks like he burns a ton of coal to make a couple of strides. Glad he keeps his feet moving though.
 
TMLBlueandWhite said:
Robertson is ok I guess.

I'm not convinced his sweet sweet shot is enough to make up for his weaknesses in virtually every other aspect of the game. The team has enough offensive stalwarts lacking defensive awareness. And if Robertson was scoring 30+ goals a year while setting up another 30+ in the process he'd be worth keeping around.

His current mediocre level of production isn't enough to sweat losing him though.

I think they're showcasing him for a trade too. It's not just the fact he's an NHL tweener. But also the fact he has a bad attitude.

Even celebrating his goals last night he struck me as almost defiant.

Like when he said he didn't give a f*** what Leafs fans think of him. Could be the whole succeed against all odds attitude engrained in him since birth. Nothing wrong with that so long as the player has the skill to back it up.

But having the attitude of a superstar without all the talent usually makes for a tradeable combination.
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That's quite a case you are building against Robertson, including a misquote of him. He never said he doesn't "give a f^%k" what Lead fans think of him.

You also seem to be ignoring his defensive and PK efforts and being a puck hound and decent passer, or are you of the opinion that preseason doesn't matter and 23 year olds are done developing?
 
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kk87 said:
No way - are you telling me the 21 year old with an elite skillset actually improved over time as he turned 23? Who could've seen that coming!

I see what you're saying, but I can't stand this talking point. The guy was on a 20+ goal pace last year in limited minutes with almost no power play time last year, and critics picked apart his weaknesses and shortcomings as if he were a 29 year old veteran. I don't think any of his proponents ever argued he was a perfect player at 21, but it's just so obvious that he has a skillset that needs to be leveraged. Not only is the guy still in his early 20s, he had his development stunted by covid and injuries and it should come as a shock ***to no one*** that he's now starting to blossom.

I've said it all along - trading Robertson for pennies serves absolutely no purpose; not only does he have the most tantalizing goalscoring ability of anyone in the organization besides 34 and 88, but he also has a motor and a compete level that the rest of the team could probably learn from.

The goal at this point needs to be putting him in every position to succeed this year, and working to mend the relationship. I don't think the organization has done wrong by him, but they need to make it clear that he's a part of the future and has a place here.
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I think we're mostly in agreement here, but ultimately disagree in what we saw in the player last year. I think most Leafs fans, myself included, saw a young guy who would show flashes of being a real player. Yet for me, they were only flashes and I don't really care that he was on a 20g pace, because he was not in any way, shape, or form, a reliable NHL winger. He looked like a world beater in that game against Dallas where he bagged 2, including the OT winner. He'd have a shift where he'd hop the boards and look like a sparkplug with a real nose for the net. But then he'd have a string of games in the lineup where he was invisible at best, to oftentimes our outright worst player. It doesn't really matter what age he was, he wasn't a consistent lineup player, but those flashes of talent galvanized his fans and frustrated his detractors. People picking apart his game literally doesn't matter, it's just an assessment of where he's at and then it's up to the player to fix that stuff.

I felt last year that his usage was perfect: a rotational depth player who's job is to chip in occasionally, and to continue to practice and work on his game with an eye to the future. To me, getting 14 goals out of a guy with no powerplay time IS leveraging him.

I will aslo disagree with the last paragraph. I don't think it's the organization's job to make it clear he's part of the future, not yet at least. It's Robertson's job to force himself into the plans, and to demand his seat at the table. He looks great right now, but it's just the preseason and his resume is still that of a youngster developing. If he wants to prove that he's worth committing to, he needs to put together a productive and far more consistent season. We don't need him to be perfect, goodness knows that Knies is in our plans and he had plenty of games/weeks last year where he was lost, but we still need to see Robertson take those steps in the right direction. If he can stay in the lineup all year, he'll be here next year, because if he's a reliable player then the team will give him all the time in the world to fully blossom.
 
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Robertson wont get the chance, though.

All the indicators of the preseason seem to lean towards both Patches and Lorentz being locks for this team, and that their PTOs are actually just placeholders for their eventual NHL contracts. They took a chance on this team being good - and in return, they were essentially promised contracts that will fit under the cap, following some wizardry from Pridham and team.

That said, I can't help but feel NRob is also a known commodity by the team. Him scoring is not a surprise to management. They know he can score. They just don't feel like they have a role for his skillset on this team. In fact, it sincerely feels like this is a 'parade and trade' moment for Nick instead of a genuine audition. The kid can do no more than he's done now, to change minds. They think they know what he is. And they think he's 1 dimensional.

He will absolutely play in the NHL this year for someone, and even get his 20-25 goals - it'll just be on a team where it likely doesn't matter. Only problem with all of this is, it's the Leafs. So clearly it will go down as another Leafy thing that got away - and be painted starkly as a choice of an over the hill Patches vs some kid who went on to score boatloads of goals for some bottom feeder.
 
Robertson is basically a younger version of Daniel Sprong. Better off getting value now before the rest of the league figures that out.
 
What boggles my mind is that people harp on him for not having a complete game and yet were A-OK with Bertuzzi playing piss poor defense and stumble along on the ice constantly but because every 20 games he would give someone a face wash or play a bit dirty all his sins were ignored. Robertson will always be hampered by his size a bit but i think his shortcomings are very exageerated. If you have a team full of robertson's its an issue but every team needs some snipers and as long as you put him on a line that has players with a bit of defense and grit its perfectly fine.
 
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I'm amazed, though not shocked at some of the comments. This guy has been the best player on the ice in every one of the last three games. He's been the best forward defensively, and he's been the best player offensively. He's been good on the PK, he's back checked hard, made some great plays defensively, and created some of his own goals through back checking. He's been THE PP QB when he's on the ice... but hey, let's make room for Lorentz... and no offense to Lorentz, he's a decent player, but this idea that we should move Robertson now, while we can still get a 2nd or 3rd is nothing short of lunacy. Some of these comments aren't going to age well.

If he continues his strong play in the regular season... and no, I don't expect 50% shooting to continue, we had better extend him and Knies as soon as possible, before they become incredibly pricey. It wouldn't shock me to see Robertson hit 30g 20a this year... and then suddenly you've got to pay him $5-6 mil.
 
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LeafGrief said:
Is this the part where we start pretending he was always this good? By all means, he’s having a phenomenal preseason and looks poised to really break out this year, but he just turned 23, he’s clearly had a great summer and worked on his shortcomings. What a boon for him and the team, but it doesn’t go back in time and make him better as a 21-22 year old.
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100% but isn’t what you described a normal trajectory for a 2nd round pick? He should be getting better with age and experience!
 
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Keefe mishandled Robertson, look at him go with about of confidence instead of someone over his shoulder on every mistake. This kid so going to make Sheldon look the fool in the end. Garbage minutes, no PP time, pulled out over every learning curve mistake, just a joke development program. I knew Berube would like his motor and it's showing. Preseason yes, but it's his third in a row being the standout.
 
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TopCheeseShotta said:
Robertson wont get the chance, though.

All the indicators of the preseason seem to lean towards both Patches and Lorentz being locks for this team, and that their PTOs are actually just placeholders for their eventual NHL contracts. They took a chance on this team being good - and in return, they were essentially promised contracts that will fit under the cap, following some wizardry from Pridham and team.

That said, I can't help but feel NRob is also a known commodity by the team. Him scoring is not a surprise to management. They know he can score. They just don't feel like they have a role for his skillset on this team. In fact, it sincerely feels like this is a 'parade and trade' moment for Nick instead of a genuine audition. The kid can do no more than he's done now, to change minds. They think they know what he is. And they think he's 1 dimensional.

He will absolutely play in the NHL this year for someone, and even get his 20-25 goals - it'll just be on a team where it likely doesn't matter. Only problem with all of this is, it's the Leafs. So clearly it will go down as another Leafy thing that got away - and be painted starkly as a choice of an over the hill Patches vs some kid who went on to score boatloads of goals for some bottom feeder.
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Lmao, I’m sorry what.
You feeling like any of the bolded paragraph is true is solely on you. Awful take.

Robertson with proper ice time and powerplay almost certainly outscores every other non-core forward on this team but we don’t have a role for his skillset?
 
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He is very 1 dimensional, but that 1 dimension is very good.

He needs to work on retaining the puck though. He seems to flub it around a lot.
 
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