Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson bet on himself and won. Here’s how

Nick Robertson has been in and out of the Maple Leafs lineup since turning pro in 2020.
But this season could be different.
It looks as if the 23-year-old winger will start with the Leafs on opening night — Wednesday in Montreal — having impressed the brass and new coach with tenacity at both ends of the rink.
“It was nice for the pucks to go in, and I’m just happy the way I played,” said Robertson, who led the club with five pre-season goals in four games. “It’s my job to carry that into the season.”
Every other year, Robertson has been injured or started with the Marlies. At various times he’s been sent back to the AHL club mid-season. Over the summer, he found himself at a crossroads: asking for a trade to a team that would give him more ice time, then relenting and signing a one-year, $875,000 (U.S.) deal before proving his worth in camp.
“I knew he was skilled, fast and can shoot,” said head coach Craig Berube. “But what surprised me about him so far in camp is, his work ethic and his competitiveness have been excellent. That’s what’s going to make him a real good player in this league.”
Robertson’s emergence was probably the biggest surprise of a Leafs pre-season that wound up Saturday night with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena.
“I learned that the best thing for me is being calm out there,” said Robertson. “You can anticipate better, you can think about things better. It helps to conserve your energy. I’m a hard-working person.
“I think I found the balance of when to turn it on, when to turn it off and when to go.”
The club went 4-1-1 with veterans trying to find their footing and adapt to Berube’s style and systems in his first Leafs camp, and young players on the bubble looking for spots. Conor Timmins had a strong camp like last season, but also stayed healthy and may have supplanted Timothy Liljegren as a right-side defenceman. Forward Pontus Holmberg continued to do enough things right, earning Berube’s trust the way he did under Sheldon Keefe.
General manager Brad Treliving has until 5 p.m. Monday to trim the roster from 29 to a maximum of 23. That includes deciding if veteran forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz have earned contracts after professional tryouts. Adding them would make the salary-cap situation more complicated, but both had strong camps. Lorentz scored against Detroit, and looks like a natural fit on the fourth line.
“We’ll see,” Lorentz said about a possible contract. “That’s out of my control. I did my part and we’ll see what happens. I’m happy with the way I played, and obviously it’s a deep team and they’ve got a lot of hard decisions to make, and that’s a good sign.”
Having too many options is a nice problem to have, but some are banged up. Defenceman Jake McCabe and forward Calle Järnkrok have barely played or practised because of undisclosed injuries. Defenceman Jani Hakanpää (knee) and forward Connor Dewar (shoulder) didn’t see game action and may not be ready. Putting any of them on long-term injured reserve would open a roster spot and cap space, but they would have to miss at least 10 games and 24 days.
Rookie forward Easton Cowan’s future is the easiest to decipher. He’ll most likely head back to the OHL’s London Knights for his final year of junior eligibility and a run with Team Canada at the world juniors.
Beyond that, Treliving’s options come with some risk.
The depth defencemen all require waivers to be sent to the AHL and could be lost to a rival. Philippe Myers, Marshall Rifai and Dakota Mermis fit that bill. According to multiple reports, Rifai and veteran goalie Matt Murray, making his way back from double-hip surgery, were placed on waivers Sunday.
Treliving may be forced to make a trade and take less than market value in return to make room. Liljegren and his $3-million cap hit are at the front of that line. Another possibility is centre David Kämpf, with three years left at a $2.4-million cap hit. That’s a bit pricey for a fourth-line centre, and Lorentz might do the job at less than half the price.
“We’ve got tough decisions, for sure,” said Berube.