There will be no arbitration hearings in the NHL this summer. The last remaining case has settled as the Maple Leafs announced that they have re-signed winger Nicholas Robertson to a one-year, $1.825MM contract.
The agreement comes one day after the two sides made their submissions in advance of Sunday’s scheduled hearing. Toronto filed at $1.2MM while Robertson’s camp came in at $2.25MM. The midpoint of those numbers is $1.725MM so Robertson was able to beat that by $100K with this agreement while it represents a big raise on the $875K he received last season.
The 23-year-old has shown himself to be a capable depth scorer but that alone hasn’t been enough to stay in the lineup with much consistency. After notching 14 goals in 56 games in 2023-24, Robertson was able to slightly beat that total last season, tallying 15 times while adding seven assists in 69 games. He also averaged a career-high 12:00 per game of playing time.
However, while he was in the lineup more often than not during the regular season, that wasn’t the case in the playoffs. Robertson played in just three games for the Maple Leafs during the playoffs despite picking up points in two of those outings, a goal and an assist.
The lack of consistent playing time led Robertson to request a trade last summer, an ask that wasn’t granted. At this point, it doesn’t appear as if the request has been dropped either. However, a $1.825MM price tag for a player who hasn’t been able to stay in the lineup on a regular basis might be on the high side for some teams although a swap of young forwards on similar contracts could be a viable path to a change of scenery for Robertson.
On the other hand, Toronto’s most prominent offseason addition up front to replace Mitch Marner was winger Matias Maccelli, acquired from Utah. With the Maple Leafs looking to ice a more balanced lineup, there could be a chance for Robertson to get more of a look in a top-six or even top-nine role in 2025-26 and if that were to happen, he might be inclined to rescind his request to be moved.
With the signing, Toronto has all its NHL restricted free agents under contract but they still have a pair of prospects to re-sign over the coming weeks in goaltender Dennis Hildeby and defenseman William Villeneuve. While Hildeby was arbitration-eligible, he declined to file for a hearing early last month.
Now that Robertson is signed, the cap picture for the Maple Leafs looks clearer. Per PuckPedia, Toronto has around $1.1MM in flexibility, albeit with 24 players on its roster with the maximum being 23 healthy players. That gives GM Brad Treliving a bit of wiggle room to work with while they’re believed to be looking to move winger Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1MM) and David Kampf ($2.4MM) to open up both cap and roster space. Their ability (or lack thereof) to do so might ultimately dictate if they can make any other moves this summer.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the deal.