Maple Leafs May Be Open To Trading Young Forward

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a strong forward group that is deep, but they are still going to want to upgrade at the trade deadline for their playoff run. Now that they know they can get out of the first round, their sights are set much higher in the coming seasons. Other teams are going to be upgrading, and if it's anything like the upgrades in the Eastern Conference last season, the Maple Leafs are going to have their work cut out for them.

In order to upgrade, some pieces are going to be headed out. The Athletic mentioned that the Maple Leafs may be open to moving Nicholas Robertson due to his consistency issues. When it comes to young forwards, he has been the most inconsistent, partly due to his injury issues as well, which isn't his fault.

If Toronto is going to upgrade at forward, a player coming in has a good chance of moving Robertson down or out of the lineup, so it would make a little more sense to use his value in order to acquire a piece like that. The Maple Leafs already have Matthew Knies and a few strong prospects coming soon.

Robertson has three goals and nine points in 21 games, but a problem for him he will consistently run into is lack of ice time. He would be able to reach new heights playing more and getting more responsibility. As a contender, the Maple Leafs aren't necessarily going to give him that. It may end up being best for both sides if Robertson is used in a trade to acquire a piece that would be impactful this season.