Nick Robertson's ice time limited for the second straight game; if Keefe isn't going to play him, it might be time to send him down
Nick Robertson played a season-low 6:32 on Saturday in Los Angeles. The game was an unmitigated disaster for the Leafs as a whole, so perhaps it was just Keefe shortening his bench a bit to try to gain the upper hand. Well, when Robertson was limited to just 8:02 on Sunday in Anaheim, while the team held a 3-1 lead to start the third, it appears as though that theory has been debunked.
Robertson has now played just a COMBINED 14:34 in his last two games with the Leafs. That total seems low for even one game, let alone two, which begs the question; why don't the Leafs just send Robertson back to the AHL to dominate there on the top line in all situations?
Sheldon Keefe may think he's helping both the team and the player by sending him a message through his ice time, but what he's actually doing is hurting Robertson's development. In both games, Robertson was playing less than what you might expect from a 4th liner - and he's doing it despite the fact that Robertson is one of the hardest working players on the team.
The team as a whole is having a hard time right now. I find it odd that Keefe has chosen to alienate a 21-year-old with a total of 22 games of experience rather than rolling him out there with some of the team's top veterans to help him find his groove and establish himself as either a primary or secondary contributor on this team. Robertson needs to find his identity and he's not going to find that stapled to the bench.
With the Leafs having a couple of days off today and tomorrow to prepare for Wednesday's game against the Flyers, I'd expect to see Robertson either sent back to the AHL or shifted back to the top six with the intention of allowing him to carve out his role with the team. We saw what he could do in the preseason, notching 8 points and then again during his regular season debut when he scored two goals, including a beautiful OT game-winner. Yes, he's only had 2 points in the 5 games since, but I think that's where you look at what his veteran linemates are doing, rather than benching the budding young star. After all, when Auston Matthews is complementing your shot, there's a pretty good chance that you have at least one tool that can help win hockey games - and for a team who has struggled to win games of late, maybe limiting Robertson's ice time isn't the answer.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 31 | 307 ANSWERS Nick Robertson's ice time limited for the second straight game; if Keefe isn't going to play him, it might be time to send him down How many minutes is a good number for Robertson per game? | ||
| 12-13 mins | 46 | 15 % |
| 13-14 mins | 72 | 23.5 % |
| 14-15 mins | 109 | 35.5 % |
| Over 15 mins on a scoring line | 80 | 26.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
