"Solid interest" in NHL trade market for Leafs forward Robertson: report

The Nick Robertson story with the Toronto Maple Leafs might just be getting started.

On Tuesday, Robertson ended a bit of a contract standoff with Toronto, signing on a one-year deal worth $875,000. Earlier in the summer, Robertson reportedly requested a trade away from the Maple Leafs, looking for a new opportunity after spending five years with the organization that drafted him in the second round back in 2019.

But according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the trade that Robertson was initially seeking could still come.

“Despite new contract, belief is Nick Robertson is still more likely to be traded than open the season with the Leafs,” Seravalli posted on X on Tuesday morning. “There is still solid interest in Robertson. And it’s always easier to trade an asset under contract as opposed to an RFA, which helped him sign.”

Despite new contract, belief is Nick Robertson is still more likely to be traded than open the season with the #Leafs.

There is still solid interest in Robertson. And it's always easier to trade an asset under contract as opposed to an RFA, which helped him sign.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 10, 2024

No specifics were offered about which teams may be interested or the type of return Toronto would be looking for. Toronto opens their regular season in less than a month, with their first game slated for October 9 in Montreal.

In July, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving addressed the speculation around Robertson.

“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 at the time. “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.”

Robertson put up 14 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for the team this past season.

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