Nick Robertson making the most of his opportunity on Maple Leafs’ top line

“ I felt a little more familiar, just a little more puck touches,” Robertson said following his first goal of the season against the Buffalo Sabres. “I mean,  it’s so much easier to get in the game and he’s such a talented player.  Playing with Bob [McMann] too, it makes it so much easier and kind of getting in the game and then feeling good about it.”

Now, here’s the catch. We know that Robertson is capable of producing in bursts. He had a three-game stretch in December of last season that saw him score three goals and add six points in three games. He followed that with three goals and four points in his next 22 games. Then he scored three goals in his next two games. After that, he had one goal and three points in his next 12 games. If you look at his game log in 2023-24, it’s the same deal. He’ll be the best player on the ice for three or four games and then he’ll be a background character for the next 20.

It’s what makes Robertson so frustrating as a player. When he scores a goal like the one shown above, you can see the talent that he has. And for a team that’s struggled with consistent depth scoring in the past few years, Robertson seems like the easiest contender to step up and fill in some of the blanks, but he hasn’t been able to do it on a consistent basis. And consistent doesn’t mean that he has to be a point-per-game player. But he can’t disappear for long stretches like this, especially when he doesn’t have the benefit of being a go-to trustworthy player on the defensive side of the puck.

Robertson now has six points in 11 games, which, on paper, should save him from being a trade candidate. But it’s only going to get more difficult for him to retain his roster spot from here. He’s not guaranteed a spot on the top line once Nylander returns, and while head coach Craig Berube would certainly prefer to keep him in the lineup, and ideally on a line with fellow offensive-minded players that can set him up for success, he won’t be able to get away with it if he’s disappearing from the scoresheet for ten games at a time.

The Maple Leafs are back home for the next four games, starting with hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, and if Robertson wants to keep his spot, he’s got a great opportunity to string some of these games together in front of the home crowd. It’s going to be an uphill battle, but he’s been doing all the right things in the past few games and will be rewarded if he can keep it up.