It sure sounds like Nick Robertson has no interest in the Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs remain in a bind with Nick Robertson.
Earlier this summer the news broke via a report from TSN’s Chris Johnston that the 22-year-old forward (and restricted free agent) Robertson had no interest in re-signing with Toronto, and was seeking to get his rights traded to another team.
Robertson, a 2019 draft pick by the Leafs in the second round, put up 14 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for the team this past season.
Johnston was on TSN 1050’s First Up show today and reiterated his thoughts from earlier in the summer.
“I think, obviously, at this stage of the summer, the Leafs are still working through what happens with Nick Robertson, but there’s a pretty clear path for him to be part of the mix at left wing, to potentially have a role that exceeds what he’s had in the past,” Johnston said.
“But at this stage, Nick Robertson doesn’t seem inclined to sign in Toronto and is sticking to the idea that he’d like to play somewhere else. And so I think they have to kind of sort that out first or as part of this.”
Leafs general manager Brad Treliving wasn’t quite singing the same tune when asked about the situation earlier in the summer, though perhaps it was just a bit of media posturing.
“As far as Nick is concerned, he is an excellent young player. I am not going to get into play-by-play. I haven’t seen the reports. I have certainly known that there was some frustration with Nick on his behalf, but we look at Nick as an excellent player. There is great opportunity for Nick here. We need him to be a good player for us,” Treliving told the media back in July. “I am not going to get into any speculation or public back-and-forth. We will just leave it at that and continue to move forward.”
The Leafs hit the ice for their first preseason game against Ottawa on September 22, and their regular season begins on October 9 in Montreal.