What’s next for Nick Robertson and the Maple Leafs? 

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of an offseason of change, as Mitch Marner is out the door and on to the Vegas Golden Knights.

That salary cap flexibility has allowed the team to add players like Nicolas Roy (acquired for Marner in a sign-and-trade), Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli in depth roles for a team that badly needed to improve its bottom six.

But where does that leave forward Nick Robertson? The 23-year-old tallied 15 goals in 69 games last year in a limited role, and as it stands right now, there’s not necessarily a clear fit for him among the team’s top 12 forwards.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and DFO Senior Writer Matt Larkin discussed the situation with Robertson, where he fits in in Toronto if he stays, and why the fit between player and team hasn’t worked out for the best in prior years.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The other name I want to throw your way is Nick Robertson. His arbitration hearing is coming up. Who knows if they’ll find a deal; who knows if they’ll find a trade. What do you make of Nick Robertson and the Leafs, are we finally going to get a finale to this saga?

Matt Larkin: The irony is this is the first summer where I think I’m not predicting a trade, and then of course a trade’s going to happen because of that. I do wonder if the Leafs actually need him right now because they are crunched against the cap. Right now, after losing Mitch Marner, you have to find depth scoring for cheap wherever you can get it, and he can give you 15 goals in the bottom six. That said, I know if you trade [Robertson] somewhere else, to a weaker team that can play him on the second line, he’s going to get 20-25 goals because he can shoot the puck. Just on a contending team, he doesn’t fit in a bottom six. He’s been miscast.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…