Robertson trade talk, late draft success stories, and clean slates for all: Leaflets

Really jazzed that this will be the last Leaflets I write that isn’t reacting to something on ice related. While the summer break from hockey is good and necessary, and for me personally, an enjoyable stretch of the year, the writing aspect of my life is thrilled that mediocre quotes and David Kampf trade speculation can be put on the back burner.

So here is the last Leaflets of the “summer” and probably the last time there won’t be overreactions to line rushes or pleas for seeing more of the Marlies goaltenders in the preseason.

The fourth or fifth year that Nick Robertson is absolutely going to be traded

Not sure if there is anyone on the Leafs roster who has been traded more in the media than Nick Robertson. Even the ‘David Kampf is on his way out’ stuff didn’t really take off until the start of last season and over Robertson’s run, he’s gone from a sell high prospect to an interesting throw-in to a change of scenery guy to now being valued as a one-dimensional depth scorer. Hindsight being 20/20, cashing out during the peak prospect years would have been best but perhaps Fraser Minten’s value in the Carlo trade serves as a reminder that Robertson’s value might actually be higher now.

Given that I just recently did a whole thing on where Nick Robertson could fit in the Leafs lineup and why being a one dimensional scorer isn’t something the Leafs should discard immediately, I’ll focus today on who should be interested and what the Leafs should be looking for in return.

There isn’t a shortage of teams that can benefit from a Nick Robertson-type player. He fits perfectly as an exciting, young goal scorer on a team in a rebuild or he can be a complementary piece on a team up against the salary cap and needs to find cheap scoring. There are plenty of stops in between that and whether teams know they need a Robertson type right now or if injuries force teams in his direction, there is a market for him.

At the same time the Maple Leafs know they are amongst the teams that could potentially use Robertson and while there isn’t a windfall waiting for the Leafs if they move on from Robertson, there can be reasonable hope that desperation or urgency could drive the price up. You can’t fault Treliving for waiting and with trade and free agent markets seemingly becoming more limited than ever, there has to be at least some hope that either through the Leafs taking back an expensive AHLer or waiting a couple of years for the pick that somehow a second round pick could be the dream return.

That shouldn’t be unrealistic given Robertson’s age, scoring ability, and manageable cap hit, but far more likely is that Brad Treliving is will be looking for a third round pick with some kind of kicker either in the form of AHL depth or a late pick.

While looking at options like Dallas, Carolina, or Colorado make a lot of sense, the most intriguing options might be rebuilding options as the Ducks, Sharks, Blackhawks, or even the Islanders have picks to spare and might want to run Robertson in their top six benefiting their younger talent and giving Robertson a chance to take his next step. The gap between a third round pick from the Sharks and a second round pick from the Avalanche is pretty small and the Leafs should be able to find a partner if they are in fact wanting to move on from Robertson.

The fact remains that trading Robertson might not be the best idea. While roster spots have been accounted for on the Leafs, just want Toronto will get out of Max Domi, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy remains to be seen. If no one is going to make it worth Toronto’s while, keeping Robertson might make the most sense.

Praise for late round picks

As the Leafs rookie camp gets underway it is certainly worth appreciating that some of the top prospects in attendance are guys like Miroslav Holinka and Noah Chadwick. There is some middle six forward and middle pairing defence potential in the two of them respectively and the Leafs finding talent in the later rounds is essential.

Toronto has had a strong history of this, Pierre Engvall, Pontus Holmberg, Connor Brown, and Andreas Johnsson have had solid NHL careers. Nikita Grebenkin was a valuable trade asset for the Maple Leafs, and even Dakota Joshua who was cast off by the Leafs has returned to the organization with a renewed sense of enthusiasm about his abilities. The Leafs do well in the late rounds and that was before adding a Director of Scouting who was part of the Red Wings organization in the years they were finding Zetterberg and Datsyuk as late round gems.

While earlier picks are nice, it is smart for the Leafs to adopt a late round gem sense of drafting. Tinus Luc Koblar was a bit of a reach for the Leafs when they selected him and that feels like it is a sign that the organization is adopting a go off the board mentality and commitment to scouting players that can provide the Leafs with greater upside than their draft position suggests.

The value of late round picks in the hands of the Maple Leafs is something they hopefully take pride in. And the use of those picks should hopefully factor into some of the roster cuts they’ll soon need to make. Stockpiling late six and seventh round picks while shedding the salaries for Kampf and Jarnkrok would be valuable. Even with Robertson, there may be value in acquiring a volume of picks rather than the pick projected to be the earliest.

Wide open training camp

Expectations might be high and obviously there will be some players that are gifted encouraging starting line rushes or defensive partners to begin the 2025-26 camp but the theme for the Maple Leafs should be a clean slate and that anyone can earn a spot.

Outside of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies there isn’t much beyond the assumption of what each player could or should do in certain situations. There is excitement that Matias Maccelli could be a top six playmaker but he also had an 18 point year in 2024-25 that says otherwise.

Dakota Joshua 18-goal 2023-24 came with an unsustainable shooting percentage that could mean he’s more of a fourth line option than the third liner the Leafs are hoping he can be.

Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton are likely favoured over David Kampf as bottom six centres but they haven’t taken his job just yet and players like Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson are likely very aware of how they have just as much likelihood of starting the season in the pressbox as they do starting the season on the second line.

All of that before even getting around to what Easton Cowan could potentially bring to the table.

On defence the Leafs have an interesting assortment of players in Henry Thrun, Philippe Myers, Simon Benoit, Matt Benning, and maybe even William Villeneuve that want to make a case for the Leafs lineup. And while four of the Leafs defensive spots have likely been claimed, I’d argue that Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s position should be considered up for grabs and that there is a benefit in seeing which the Leafs defensive depth can potentially work well with their established group.

The past few years have seen the Leafs enter training camp where there was a very clear intention for each player and the training camp and preseason games were extended tests of that starting premise before adjusting plans at various points in the regular season. This year it would be nice to see the competition unfold in real time. If Domi starts on Matthews’ wing, but Maccelli looks faster and more disciplined, it would be nice to see Berube flip players around in real time.

It would be nice to see Cowan taking rushes next to Matthews, Tavares, Roy, and Laughton if he quickly shows that his abilities are beyond playing next to Travis Boyd.

Not everyone the Leafs brought in will rebound and not every season equals a career year, and as long as the preseason feels, it isn’t enough time to get the lineup card perfect so outside of knowing that the Leafs are going to want Matthew Knies next to Auston Matthews on every shift, it seems worthwhile to start the year with the line blender already going rather than bringing it out in late October.