One of the longest will-they-won’t-they trade sagas in recent Toronto Maple Leafs history has come to a close, as the team announced the trade of forward Nick Robertson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2028.
Robertson, 24, has seemingly been on the trade block as long as he’s been a full-time NHL, even requesting a trade from the team following the 2023/24 season. Despite this, he managed to push through 234 games with the team, scoring 48 goals and 40 points across that span.
Robertson has consistently been one of Toronto’s top producers on a rate basis. This year, he ranked fourth on the team in 5-on-5 goals per hour (0.96), and 7th in points per hour (1.85). Over the past three seasons, he trailed only Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the team in goals per hour (1.09), which was also good for 25th in the entire NHL among players with 2000+ minutes played in those three years.
At the same time, he never fully earned the trust of any of his coaches in Toronto, peaking at 12:40 in average ice time this season and landing at under 12 minutes across his tenure. Roberston’s top linemates in 2025/26 were Nicholas Roy (260 minutes), Max Domi (195 minutes), Easton Cowan (189 minutes), and Bobby McMann (175 minutes).
Ultimately, while Robertson’s high-end release and willingness to work hard, kept him in the conversation, his size, defensive weaknesses, and lack of imposing physicality were turn-offs for many.
Robertson’s ability to shoot at an elite level has been a long-term asset, but his usage remains a bottom-of-lineup affair (visuals via Micah Blake McCurdy, HockeyViz)
The size in particular is also part of why one of the league’s most efficient goal scorers struggled to generate much of a trade market, needing two years to fetch a mid-round pick in a future year. Simply put, a 5’9 winger isn’t going to bring a big haul on the trade market without proving themselves to be an outright star, and without a 20-goal season to his name, Robertson wasn’t going to be one of those outliers.
That he ended up in Pittsburgh, where Kyle Dubas and many of the Leafs’ former staff currently run the show, is no surprise to me, especially as they reportedly are in the mix to acquire Nick’s brother Jason from Dallas.
Ultimately, I think this is a move that Toronto likely “loses” on a pure impact-for-price basis, as a cheap depth finisher always carries value in an NHL lineup. I’m also a little relieved this is over for everybody, given how long the wagons have been circled on a deal.
Between losing Robertson to this trade, letting Mattias Maccelli hit free agency, and potentially rehoming Max Domi to Robidas Island (LTIR), there’s a lot of efficient offence slipping out of the Toronto lineup, so we’ll have to see how they replace it over the coming days.
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