Treliving praises pending RFA Nick Robertson, non-committal on his future in Toronto

While the attention in Toronto this June is focused on big names like Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and even Matthew Knies, they aren’t the only Maple Leafs set to hit free agency this summer.

The youngest of those remaining names is 23-year-old Nick Robertson, a tough, bottom-six attacker who will be a restricted free agent come July 1st. But considering the high-profile players the Leafs are focused on right now, don’t expect players like Robertson to be a priority headed into next week.

“We’ll get to that,” GM Brad Treliving said during Thursday’s media availability. “With any of our free agents, we’ve talked to them. For some of them, and this is nothing against the other players, there has been more [discussion]. With the UFA guys, with the timeline, we’re spending probably more time there. But we certainly have been engaged with any of the guys who need contracts.”

After a hot preseason, Robertson played a career-high 69 games this year, with 15 goals and 22 points overall. In three playoff appearances, he registered a goal and an assist. Asked if he sees a place for Robertson specifically on the team moving forward, Treliving praised the 2019 second-round pick, but kept mum on his future.

“Yeah, Nick’s a good player,” Treliving said. “Again, we’re in June, the puzzle has to come into place. But I think Nick is a good player. He’s still a young player, he’s still an evolving player, but he’s got a skill set and he shoots it in the net. That’s a good skill set to have.”

Roberston was an RFA with the Maple Leafs just one year ago after completing his entry-level contract. He then signed a one-year, $875,000 extension with the team last September.

“We’ll see how it plays out,” Treliving said. “We are in the early days here, but Nick’s a great kid who possesses a real good skill set.”

While a lot of attention is rightfully being placed on the stars who could be coming in or going out of Toronto this summer, there’s work to be done in shoring up their bottom six ahead of next season, even if isn’t as flashy a task. Robertson is one of a number of these players to pay attention to as Toronto has to decide their place in the organization moving forward.