Insider: Maple Leafs Willing to Trade Young Forward

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the key teams to watch at the trade deadline, though most are still unsure of what their plans are. But if they are buying, a young forward that they've been waiting years for to produce may have to be sacrificed.

According to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Leafs appear to be ready to use Nick Robertson as trade bait. 

Nick Robertson's name has started to pop up in trade chatter as a piece the Maple Leafs are willing to move… He's performed well since re-joining the big club this season and has put up solid numbers in the AHL. With Toronto's reluctance to move top prospects Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, Robertson seems to be the carrot the team is dangling.

But if the target is Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev, as the Buds seem to have at the top of their wish list, Pagnotta doesn't think that the Flames are interested.

Robertson has 14 points in 31 games with Toronto this season in very limited action, just under 11 minutes per night. With the AHL's Marlies, he had five goals and 11 points in just nine games.

He's definitely been a spark in the bottom-six, something the Leafs have lacked much of the season.

It's been a long road for the 22-year-old to finally make a bit of a mark with the big club, as a successive string of injuries has derailed his career for the past few years since making his debut in the 2020 playoffs.

Interestingly, Pagnotta also pegs Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf as possible casualties of any incoming salary at the trade deadline as well. 

Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports