It appears there’s been little to no movement between the Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free agent Nick Robertson since he requested a trade from the team on June 30.
As training camp draws near, the 22-year-old winger—who finished with 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games with the Maple Leafs the previous season—remains unsigned. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston does not think a deal will be reached anytime soon. Johnston said, “It’s kind of at a standstill right now,” on OverDrive on Monday.
“It’s my understanding that Nick Robertson still wants to go on, but he is still a restricted free agent with limited rights. All he really could do is miss time and attempt to exert pressure on the team in that way, particularly if he refuses to sign a contract and the organization decides not to move him.
But obviously it comes at a cost to him, both in terms of getting up to speed in training camp and potentially playing games, and obviously a financial cost.
“I don’t know how it will be handled, but as September approaches, it doesn’t appear like a solution is in sight. General manager Brad Treliving stated back on July 1 that the Leafs need Nick Robertson.
They don’t have as much depth at left wing as they did in previous years, but he still has a terrific shot this season because of what he demonstrated last year and the expectation that someone his age will become better. There might be a way to reconstruct things, but as of right now, I can’t think of a clear fix.”
