Last week, when the Leafs sent 2019 2nd round pick Nicholas Robertson down to the Toronto Marlies, there were some who felt as though the move could be the beginning of the end of Robertson's time in Toronto.
During this weekend's Hockey Night in Canada coverage on Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman touched on the Robertson situation on the "Saturday Headlines", stating that the plan was not for the Leafs to move Robertson, but rather to bring him back up after the trade deadline, when roster limits are expanded. Now, however, there are even more questions about Robertson's future with the Leafs.
This morning, as the Toronto Marlies assembled their lineup for today's game, Robertson was not listed on the active roster. The Athletic's Joshua Kloke suggested that this could simply be to limit Robertson's risk of injury and that he'd continue working with the team's development staff instead. However, is that really the case here?
As we anticipate Friday's 3pm ET trade deadline, it seems somewhat surprising that Robertson wouldn't just play a few games at the AHL level, seeing big minutes in all situations in anticipation of a recall later this week. Are the Leafs simply putting up a bit of a smokescreen as they attempt to negotiate a trade involving Robertson?
The media coverage in Toronto is extensive and perhaps the Leafs are simply trying to divert attention away from the situation to avoid having a frenzy develop during media sessions for both today and tomorrow's games against Buffalo and Boston. Yes, there's certainly a chance that the plan is indeed to keep Robertson, but as we know, you have to give something to get something and with the Leafs already informing teams that they won't entertain offers that include Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, it would only make sense for the next request from teams being in that Robertson, Niemela range of prospect. We'll see where this goes.
