Sheldon Keefe reveals why Nick Robertson remains on the outside looking in

Keefe said that Robertson's status is discussed daily with the rest of the coaching staff but is impressed that he is still pushing hard in practice. The reason Keefe provided for not having played Robertson the past 3 games is that he wants the current forward group to gain some traction.

However, as Keefe wants the current group to gain traction, there are a couple of players, namely Alex Kerfoot and Pierre Engvall, who have struggled significantly no matter where they have played.

It's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why the coaching staff is so high on Kerfoot. He's versatile in that he can play all 3 forward positions and can be used on the PK, but Kerfoot doesn't excel in any of these areas. An even bigger head-scratcher is how Engvall has remained in the lineup despite being out-produced by Robertson. Engvall has just 3 points in 17 games, while Robertson has 5 points in 10 games this season.

On Friday, Keefe told the media that it's not so much a matter of what Robertson does at this point, but that someone in the active lineup may need to underperform in order for Robertson to get back into the lineup. However, that can't be the case, since a number of depth players have underperformed and have seemingly been given complete immunity.

The Leafs play Friday and Saturday in Minnesota and Pittsburgh, so perhaps we'll see Robertson make it back into the lineup for one of those two games. Keefe said Robertson's pace in practice on Friday was noticeable and impressive, so I suppose he is at least on his coach's radar. Silver-linings.