Some hockey pundits encouraged Nicholas Robertson and the Toronto Maple Leafs to avoid salary arbitration.
Nobody leaves those arbitration hearings feeling good about the other side.
Apparently, the Maple Leafs and Robertson knew that.
On Saturday, Toronto announced that they’ve signed Robertson to a one-year, $1.825 million contract that avoids arbitration.
The sides had already submitted their arbitration salary numbers. The Maple Leafs put in $1.2 million, and Robertson put in $2.25 million.
This number works out just a bit more in Robertson’s direction, a compromise he was probably happy with.
MORE: Maple Leafs’ fans are counting down the days until Connor McDavid
Robertson has proven he’s a goal-scoring depth winger.
He had 14 goals in 56 games in 2023-24, then he scored 15 goals in 69 games in 2024-25, adding seven assists.
Robertson played a career-high 12 minutes per game in 2024-25.
The Maple Leafs only played Robertson in three playoff games, and he had a goal and an assist.
Last summer, Robertson requested a trade, but it never happened.
With Mitch Marner’s departure, though, Robertson could see more playing time this season. That’d be especially true if he can notch goals at the same per-minute rate while doing it in a large quantity of minutes.
It’s not a crucial move for Toronto, but it’s a good contract to get signed before arbitration. Now the Maple Leafs can start looking toward the season ahead.
MORE: Capitals’ phenom on verge of NHL breakthrough
