Trade Pitch Sees Canadiens Acquire Disgruntled Maple Leafs Forward

Toronto Maple Leafs

Nick Robertson of the Toronto Maple Leafs remains an RFA as the disgruntled forward has asked for a trade.

The website PuckPedia has a new tool called PuckGM that lets users create their own trades and one user proposed a deal that would see the Montreal Canadiens acquire Robertson.

Canadiens get:

Nick Robertson

Maple Leafs get:

2025 second-round pick

2025 third-round pick

On paper, this deal does make sense as Robertson is a former second-round pick and when he is given the chance to play in the NHL, he does have success. Montreal, meanwhile, has two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and three third-round picks in the 2025 NHL draft so trading two of them isn’t a huge deal.

Robertson would be projected to be the Canadiens’ second-line left winger and play on a line with Alex Newhook and Christian Dvorak. At age 22, Robertson fits in nicely with the rest of the Canadiens young core, as he would be given a big role that he isn’t getting in Toronto.

Last season, Robertson recorded 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 56 games. He’s skated in just 87 NHL games recording 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points.

The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, would get two draft picks that GM Brad Treliving can use at the deadline to help bolster their lineup.

Maple Leafs Reluctant to Trade Robertson

Even though Robertson has requested a trade from the Maple Leafs and has no plans of re-signing, Treliving is reluctant to move him.

After the opening day of free agency on July 1, Treliving says he believes Robertson can have a big role in Toronto this season.

“I have certainly known that there was some frustration with Nick, but we look at Nick as an excellent player,” Treliving said. “There is a great opportunity for Nick here. We need him to be a good player for us. I am not going to get into any speculation or public back-and-forth. We will just leave it at that and continue to move forward.”

Robertson was drafted with the 53rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft. He is the younger brother of Dallas Stars star forward Jason Robertson.

Canadiens Focus on Re-Signing Their Own

After missing out on the playoffs, Montreal focused on re-signing their own players.

The Canadiens are in the midst of a rebuild, and in the offseason, Montreal handed out long-term extensions to Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, and Justin Barron

According to Canadiens GM Kent Hughes, he stood pat on the opening day of free agency as no deal made sense to him or the team.

“We didn’t go into today thinking we had to accomplish things we wanted to. I think what happens in free agency, and it’s natural, is if you go in overly committed to coming out with something, then sometimes you come out with something that you look back on and wish you didn’t,” Hughes said.

“So, we wanted to enter the day with discipline and say, if we can do this under these parameters, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we’re fine to continue to wait and see if something materializes, either via free agency later or via trade first,” Hughes added.

The Canadiens open their 2024-25 NHL season at home on Oct. 9 against the Maple Leafs.