Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson Successfully Avoid Arbitration With Solid New Deal

Last off-season, Nick Robertson requested a trade, looking for a fresh start and a better opportunity. Leafs GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube were able to convince him that he would be getting that in Toronto after Sheldon Keefe's departure.

Eventually, the former second-round pick and the Leafs came to terms on a one-year deal.

Under Berube, Robertson found himself to be a regular, skating in a career-high 69 games, tallying 15 goals and 22 points while playing limited minutes on the third line.

Robertson filed for arbitration earlier this summer and was the only scheduled hearing left after all 10 other players and their respective teams settled beforehand.

There was a $1.05M gap between the two sides, with the Leafs filing at $1.2M and Robertson asking for $2.25M. Despite a $1M gap, it didn't take long for the two sides to meet in the middle with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reporting on Saturday that Robertson's new salary will be $1.825M - or about 70K more than the midway point between the two arbitration filings.

Some may think it is a little high for a 15-goal scorer and for someone that played in just 3 playoff games last season, but the Leafs need to replace some of the offense lost by the departed Mitch Marner and Robertson has shown he can produce and if able to play a full 82 games, could easily hit the 20-goal mark.

With Robertson now under contract, the Leafs' forward group is very crowded, which means that Treliving will have to make a move or two over the coming weeks to open up a spot and give Robertson an opportunity to contribute consistently.