Trade proposal sends Nick Robertson to the Montreal Canadiens

PUBLICATION

Daniel Lucente
August 16, 2024 (8:33 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Maple Leafs Nick Robertson has demanded a trade and the latest proposal sees him traded to the rival Montreal Canadiens.

A new tool called PuckGM on the website PuckPedia allows users to create trade scenarios that could happen in the real world, and the latest one is extremely shocking considering it involves two of the most hated teams in what is dubbed as the NHL's greatest rivalry: Montreal vs Toronto.

Canadiens get:
Nick Robertson

Maple Leafs get:
2025 second-round pick
2025 third-round pick

This deal makes perfect sense on paper. Nick Robertson is a former second-round pick and hasn't had the ice-time he's been hoping for in the NHL yet, which is why he requested a trade. He would definitely have plenty of playing time on a rebuilding Habs squad, and would likely slot in on their top-six forward group.

Nick Robertson scored 14 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for the Leafs last season. In his entire career, he's played in only 87 games and accumulated 17 goals and 34 points.

The Canadiens have a ton of picks to offload, so these two in this trade would cause them no issue. At age 22, Robertson would fit in perfectly with the rest of the Canadiens young core, and get that much coveted responsibility he wasn't getting in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs would get two picks out of this trade to help bolster their future prospect pool, and would also avoid having to add Nick Robertson's salary to the cap as they are already very close to the limit and can barely afford to take on any more money.

GM of the Leafs Brad Treliving does like having Nick Robertson on the team and would be hard pressed to move him, but Robertson has stated he wants a change and the Leafs want to avoid a distraction, so he may be left with no choice but to move him.

«I have certainly known that there was some frustration with Nick, but we look at Nick as an excellent player,» Treliving said. «There is a great opportunity for Nick here. We need him to be a good player for us. I am not going to get into any speculation or public back-and-forth. We will just leave it at that and continue to move forward.»