What a wild first week of July it has been for the NHL world. Free agency started on Monday, July 1 which featured more than $1 billion worth of contracts being dealt. While there were not many trades over the last week, there have been trade requests and players informing teams that they will not re-sign this offseason. Regarding the Carolina Hurricanes, they have been at the center of trade talks with Martin Necas. It is still unknown what will happen in that situation. However, another possible trade situation has emerged with the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the Hurricanes, this could be their chance to acquire a winger to help in a position of need. The player in question is forward Nick Robertson.
Nick Robertson Is Worth Acquiring
Chris Johnston of The Athletic, TSN, and SDPN Sports reported on June 30 that Robertson told the Maple Leafs he would not re-sign with the team and has requested a trade. It comes as no surprise as the 22-year-old Pasadena, California native — who is a restricted free agent (RFA) — has had an interesting time with the Leafs during his career. The 53rd-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft saw himself being bounced back and forth between the Maple Leafs and American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Toronto Marlies during the 2023-24 season. It has not been an easy time for Robertson over the last few seasons as he has dealt with a multitude of injuries that have held back his development. He had a knee injury that sidelined him in 2021, another undisclosed leg injury later in 2021 and a shoulder issue in 2022 and 2023. Overall, it’s been a rough few seasons for the Peterborough Petes product.
Related: Nick Robertson’s Future With the Maple Leafs
The 2023-24 season represented a new career-high in NHL games played as he suited up for 56 games with the Leafs and nine games with the Marlies. Robertson had five goals and 11 points in his short time with the AHL team to start the season before being called up to the big club. However, he was a healthy scratch a fair bit as well so no one can blame him for wanting to move on. Robertson tallied 14 goals and 27 points during the 2023-24 season when allowed to show what he can do. He bounced all around the lineup and was with multiple linemates throughout the season. Looking from the outside, there was no stability for Robertson to show what he could do with his skill set.
Robertson has a track record for scoring, especially in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Petes. In his last season in junior during the 2019-20 season, he tallied 55 goals and 86 points in 46 games along with a plus-29 rating. While it is the OHL, putting up that many points in that few games is staggering. Furthermore, during the 2021-22 season with the Marlies, he had 16 goals and 28 points in 28 games. When he is healthy, Robertson can shoot the light outs and be a lethal goal scorer.
What makes Robertson a great potential addition to the Hurricanes is that he has great stick work. Pucks are on and off his stick in a hurry in scoring areas while in the offensive zone. He can keep defenders off him while looking for passes to teammates in the outlet or while keeping the play going. Robertson has had to battle back from injuries, however, when healthy he can provide a secondary layer of offense especially on the rush. Furthermore, he has sneaky speed that can provide a jump on the rush in transition. He can play in either wing position but is more reliable on the right side of the ice. His ability to play both wings can bring flexibility to the Hurricanes and head coach Rod Brind’Amour. They are short at the right-wing position with Jesper Fast still recovering from his neck injury in the last game of the regular season. Plus, Seth Jarvis has not been given an extension as of yet but is an RFA. Other than that, the Hurricanes do not have a pure winger on that side of the ice.
Related: Maple Leafs Nick Robertson: Overcoming Injuries and Proving His Value
Robertson has an underrated hockey IQ and Brind’Amour could unlock another level to his game within the Hurricanes’ system. He could also be used on special teams, mainly the power play, where the Leafs never used him. He has averaged less than 11 minutes per game and mainly been deployed at even strength. If Brind’Amour can provide him more ice time and more chances in multiple scenarios, the Hurricanes could find that Petes’ version of Robertson who was lethal all around the ice.
Potential Trade Proposal
When talking with The Hockey Writers Maple Leafs beat writer Spencer Lazary, he thinks a trade could get done between the two sides. Since it will be acquiring Robertson’s RFA rights, it could be a prospect-for-prospect swap with a potential draft pick included from the Hurricanes’ side of things. That is because Robertson has a higher ceiling and the Maple Leafs will want more in the return for the young right-winger. After discussing, a possible trade between the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes could look like:
Hurricanes Receive:
- Nick Robertson, RW/LW (RFA Rights)
Maple Leafs Receive:
- Ryan Suzuki, C (one-year, $775,000)
- 2025 4th Round Pick
The reason for Suzuki being the prospect swap for Robertson is that he has had to deal with a lot of injuries himself over his time with the organization. Right before the start of the 2023-24 season, he got hurt in the last preseason games and missed some time and spent the whole season with the Springfield Thunderbirds (the St. Louis Blues AHL affiliate). Furthermore, with the recent additions of Tyson Jost, Jack Roslovic, and the multitude of other centers, he is in a big logjam at the position. Sending him to the Maple Leafs could give him a change of scenery and a chance to play with Toronto. That matches what Robertson could get with the Hurricanes who need help at the right-wing position with the uncertainty of Necas and waiting for the upcoming Jarvis extension. It will be a win-win trade for not only the teams but for the players as well. They will go to organizations where they could have the potential to play more at the NHL level.
AFP Analytics is projecting Robertson to receive a two-year, $2.759 million deal with an annual average value of $1.38 million per season. If the Hurricanes can manage to obtain his RFA rights and get around that number for two seasons, it will be perfect for both sides. Getting a 22-year-old winger under $1.5 million per season who has a huge top-six upside is a deal you can take and run (or skate) with.
Final Thoughts
While it is unclear if the Maple Leafs would be willing to go along with Robertson’s trade request, the Hurricanes should make an effort to see if a trade could happen. They need help at the right-wing position and the 22-year-old Robertson could be a perfect fit within the top six or even top nine for the team for the 2024-25 season. When healthy, he is someone the team can rely on to drive play and add layers to the onslaught on the net. He can possibly play on the power play and give flexibility throughout the lineup.
A trade for him and then a deal to sign with Carolina for two seasons at under $1.5 million per year is the ultimate winning scenario for the Hurricanes. Getting Robertson should be on general manager Eric Tulsky’s to do list this offseason to bolster the right side of the ice.
