Nick Robertson has signed a new one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the moves in Toronto may just be getting started. With a team-friendly extension in place, the forward could produce and have a great season, or he could still be traded. Not only that, but the Maple Leafs are now ready to finalize other things they’ve been working on since the fear of losing Robertson to an offer sheet or via an immediate trade is gone.
What does all of that mean and what might be next?
The Robertson Drama Isn’t Necessarily Over
Just because Robertson signed a new deal doesn’t mean his soap opera is done. What this deal does is push the talk of a trade down the road, but it’s not clear that Robertson has changed his mind and is ready to commit to the team long term. In fact, this one-year suggests more than he still wants out than it does he’s decided Toronto is where he wants to be.
A one-year, $875K contract allows him to earn a spot on the roster, produce, and then either make himself more attractive to other teams in a trade or start this process all over again next summer with arbitration rights. This will give the player more leverage, of which he had almost none this time around.
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A one-year contract of this size is going to be attractive to teams who weren’t sure about trading for him before. If Robertson plays well and starts to produce, he could change his mind and want to stay, but he could also up his value on the trade market, making a deal more plausible.
Frank Seravalli writes, “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.”
The Maple Leafs Are Working on Pacioretty and Hakanpaa
Darren Dreger of TSN noted, “I would expect Pacioretty and Hakanpaa to be next in line as Leafs adds. It was important to get Robertson done to avoid the possibility of an offer sheet.” The suggestion here is that these deals are all but essentially done, the Leafs just needed to take care of their Robertson business first.
Max Pacioretty has been linked to the Maple Leafs (among other teams), but the Leafs appear ready to give him a contract, versus just signing…
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