RFA forward Nick Robertson's market price has been set

Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of UFA forward Daniel Sprong as they reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth only $975,000. Although the 27-year-old scored 21 goals in 2022-23 for the Seattle Kraken and 18 goals for the Detroit Red Wings in 2023-24, the Canucks will be his 3rd team in as many years and his 6th team since 2018-19.

The former 2nd round pick from the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has found it difficult to stick with one team despite solid secondary scoring, which might be even more reason as to why Robertson's holdout and trade request might hurt him more than it'll hurt the Maple Leafs.

Robertson's gripe has never been about money but the Leafs don't seem to be bending to his will on his trade request and even though he's an RFA, the ball might still be more in Toronto's court than his own. Although he doesn't have to sign a new deal just yet, if there's ever been a time for Robertson to show up and show off offensively, and take control of his own destiny, it would be 2024-25 considering the Leafs didn't address offensive depth this summer.

The move - or lack thereof - might have been a tactical one all along as the Leafs will now be handing Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann larger offensive roles. Should Robertson stick around 2024-25, he will be given a lot of opportunities within the top-9 and perhaps even the top-6 to produce as long as he can stay healthy.

Sprong's new deal is only a boon for Toronto as Robertson's market has now been capped. Barring any unforeseen changes to the market, Robertson shouldn't cost the Leafs more than a million dollars this season and with available cap space always being a problem, that will only benefit the club as they approach the trade deadline later in the year.

Sprong has put up 85 goals and 159 points across 344 games since 2015-16. Robertson on the other hand has just 17 goals and 34 points in 87 games since 2020-21 and his 14 goals and 27 points in 56 games played during the 2023-24 campaign wasn't all that inspiring. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old should be given a solid opportunity to stake his claim for a larger and perhaps more lucrative deal in the summer of 2025 but his game of cat and mouse should come to a close sooner rather than later.

Source for Daniel Sprong's statistics:
Daniel Sprong

Source for Nicholas Robertson's statistics:
Nicholas Robertson