The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a trade involving a much-maligned winger, the move led to multiple Stanley Cups.
That was July, 2015. The Leafs were finally moving on from Phil Kessel. The Pittsburgh Penguins, meanwhile, were looking to win another Stanley Cup. They felt Kessel was one of the few missing pieces, and so pulled the trigger.
Kessel went on to win two Cups with the Penguins. That’s ancient history.
But it seems eerily familiar to what happened earlier this offseason. When the Leafs moved Nick Robertson out of town, flashbacks to the Kessel trade immediately came to mind.
No, Robertson is not Kessel. Robertson has never led the Maple Leafs in scoring, nor did he actually play well during one of the worst eras in franchise history.
Robertson was a prospect that just didn’t work out. And he’s not the missing piece to the Penguins’ championship puzzle. If anything, it would be surprising to see Pittsburgh return to the postseason in 2026-27.
But that situation does not preclude the former second-round pick from turning into a solid top-six NHL winger. In other words, the move to the Steel City could allow Robertson to find the ceiling he just didn’t have in Toronto.
Who knows, Robertson may even become a 30-goal scorer if he gets a chance to play with someone like Sidney Crosby. That may be a bit of a stretch, but Maple Leafs fans have seen stranger things happen.
Robertson Could Revitalize His Career in Pittsburgh
Fans often hear that players need a “fresh start”. That’s often a euphemism used to describe a player that just didn’t pan out in one organization. When a player like that moves on, it’s pretty much a long shot that they will rekindle their careers.
Yes, there have been cases of players that wash out in one organization and find success in another. A good example of that was Colorado Avalanche forward Parker Kelly. He went from a castaway in Ottawa to a 20-goal scorer last season in Colorado.
Unfortunately, such cases are not all that common.
But there could be a chance for the former Maple Leafs prospect to take his game to the next level. If he can, this entire trade might just blow up in John Chayka’s face.
What to read next:
Does Robertson Even Matter to Maple Leafs fans at This Point?
With Nick Robertson out of the picture, does it really matter to Maple Leafs fans if he finds success in Pittsburgh?
On the whole, not really.
Robertson speculation will resurface whenever the Penguins and Maple Leafs play. But beyond that, this situation will only really matter if the two teams face each other in the postseason. Since Toronto and Pittsburgh play in different divisions, the only time they could really meet is in the Eastern Conference Final.
Should the Maple Leafs and Penguins get that far next season, it would be one of those can’t-miss events the NHL desperately wants to have happen.
Plus, the subtext of such a playoff series would be too much for the NHL world to handle. It’s bad that fans will have to wait a bit to see if the Penguins and Maple Leafs meet in the postseason.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Maple Leafs Risk Nick Robertson Turning into Phil Kessel appeared first on HEAVY.