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.
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.
