NHL Rumors: Where are things between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson?

TSN: Chris Johnston on Overdrive with Bryan Hayes and Frank Corrado on the contract situation between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson, and Robertson’s desire to move on from the team. Could the Maple Leafs bring in some PTOs if Robertson isn’t in camp.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Hayes: “Where do you stand or what, where do the Leafs stand on this Nick Robertson situation?”

Johnston: “You know, it’s kind of at a standstill right now. You know, my understanding is Nick Robertson’s desire to move on hasn’t changed. You know but the fact remains, he’s a restricted free agent. He only has so many rights.

Essentially, if he doesn’t want to sign a contract and the organization decides not to move him, really all he could do is miss time and try to put pressure on the team that way. 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 the financial cost.

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And so, you know, I don’t know how it will be resolved, but you know, as we’re getting really close to the start of September here, it doesn’t seem to be a resolution in sight. And you know, one thing Brad Treliving said back on July 1 is, you know, the Leafs have a need for Nick Robertson.

I mean, he’s, he’s got a great opportunity this season, both because of, I think, what he showed last year, the fact that it (dissipates to his age?) to get better, but also the lack of, you know, they don’t have as much depth left wing as they have in some years gone by.

And so, you know, maybe there’s a path to rebuild things. But right now, you know, it doesn’t seem that, it’s not an obvious solution out there that I see. It appears maybe the game of chicken will go on a little bit longer.”

Corrado: “Do you think it’s one of those situations, CJ, where they show up to camp and they say, this is your spot if you go out there and show us you’re capable of it? Or is there more of a, I don’t know, some PTOs that get signed, and maybe they hedge their bets against that actually happening.”

Johnston: “It could be both. And I think you have to have an understanding 100% where things are at with Robertson, because obviously, you’re getting to a spot where he actually isn’t going to be back next season. You know, you’re gonna have a little bit more money to play with under the cap, and you’ll have a bit more of a roster spot to fill, you know.

So in the meantime, I think it’s fair to assume you see a PTO. I mean, those can benefit the team a numbers level. You get a free look at a player. You get veteran players in that help you reach the minimum when you’re playing all those preseason games.

You know, so I think a lot of it will hinge on how exactly it unfolds with Robertson. And they’ve got three weeks or so from now, a little bit more before camp opens, I think, to get that clarity before the sign where to go.

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But I mean that the fact of the matter remains, this is not really a ton of options on the open market, unsigned, at this point in time. There’s not a lot of obvious upgrades or anything like that. You’re looking at players that are depth options, veterans trying to squeeze another year out of their career.

And so, you know, there’s probably a number of ways that that they can address that hole if there is one, but I think, first, they have to determine if there’s actually going to be a hole there, for sure.”