Barring a last-minute change, Nick Robertson won’t be in the Maple Leafs lineup on Thursday.
Again.
The 23-year-old winger was a healthy scratch for the Leafs’ 6-4 road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday and, judging by line rushes at practice on Wednesday, he’s going to sit when the Leafs play host to the Seattle Kraken on Halloween.
It didn’t sound like Robertson was going to lose any sleep as coach Craig Berube is favouring using the same group of forwards that helped beat the Jets.
“I don’t know if I was surprised or not, I just go with it,” Robertson said. “I’m not taking anything personal. It’s just part of the deal and it’s my job to work hard.”
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Robertson scored just one goal in Toronto’s first nine games after tearing it up in the pre-season with five goals.
“It has been fine,” Robertson said in a self-assessment of his play in the early stages of the 2024-25 campaign. “I think I’ve had some good games, some OK games, but puck luck hasn’t really been there.
“I’m sure that’ll turn around. I’m still confident in my game. I’m not beating myself up about it. I know that I’m getting another opportunity, whenever that is, and it’s my job to execute.”
And that would be with the Leafs. Unlike past seasons, Robertson requires waivers to be sent to the Toronto Marlies and there’s next to zero chance that Leafs would risk losing him to another team.
From Berube’s corner, confidence remains in Robertson.
“We had him out there penalty killing (in practice) because I do think that he can be a penalty killer for us with his speed and his tenacity,” Berube said. “It’s something I want to keep working on with him and him to keep building.
“That’s not taking away from his scoring ability or anything like that, but it’s just another part of his game that can grow.”
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