Where do Nick Robertson and the Maple Leafs go from here?

Somewhere between a groan and a sigh. 

That’s the sound Nick Robertson makes when you ask how badly he’d like to re-up and be a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs again next season.

“You know, I’m not gonna take a deep dive into my future,” Robertson replies, after letting out his deep grigh(sroan?). 

“I don’t know what my future holds. But I will say that everyone here has been unbelievable with me, for my family, for me. Guys here this year, I love these guys.”

Robertson’s relationship with the team that drafted him in 2019 is complicated. 

He has requested trades, shuffled in and out of the press box, rehabilitated multiple injuries, switched agents and signed back-to-back one-year prove-it contracts after a couple of testy but leverage-free negotiations. 

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t realize Robertson is still only 24 years old, the youngest Leafs regular outside of Matthew Knies and rookie Easton Cowan.

Through any frustrations with managers who’ve waived him or coaches who’ve sat him, Robertson’s work ethic has been a constant. He’s gotten better and played more each season, and now the winger has earned something for his patience: leverage.

Robertson — an impending restricted free agent for the third summer in a row — is armed with valuable arbitration rights. 

He won’t sign his $1.825 million qualifying offer, assuming the Leafs’ next GM gives him one. That heavy shot alone is worth a couple sheets, and the lack of security in signing a series of one-year contracts can be taxing.

Will the Leafs’ new head of hockey operations inspire Robertson with a clean slate? Does he still want a fresh start elsewhere? 

Remember, the entire Maple Leafs defence corps and their goaltenders are locked into contracts. They’re short on centres. The easiest position of change is wing.

“I mean, obviously it’s a lot thinking about where I stand with the team next season and whatnot, but I don’t really think about it too much,” Robertson said as Toronto’s season winded down. “Just try not to overthink things. Away from the rink, you kind of think. But when it gets to game time, I’m just thinking about playing.”

Game time is no more, though. Which leaves more time to think. 

And once the Maple Leafs were eliminated, Robertson admitted that he’d been “battling a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotions” during his shifts. 

Robertson made his Leafs debut in the 2020 post-season bubble. Seeing the whole team healthy scratched for these playoffs arrived as a shock, and the player has tried to understand why the fall-off happened.

“Lots of reasons. Lack of execution, buy-in, emotion — on everyone’s part, including myself. You know, it’s hard. It’s unfortunate how it ended,” Robertson said. “Every season I’ve been here, we’ve been in playoff contention. This season wasn’t our standard, and it’s kind of frustrating how it ended.”

Frustrating and enlightening.

“Just being grateful to win. It’s hard to win in this league,” Robertson continued. “Last year felt like we were winning all the time. (I learned) to never take your foot off the gas. We got a good team here. We got a playoff team. But if we don’t push the gas and buy in and play hard, we’re not gonna make the playoffs.”

Because the nightmare that was Toronto’s 2025-26 was so all-encompassing, lost in the misery is the fact that Robertson had his best individual performance yet.

Seeing more top-six nights than ever, the forward set career highs in goals (16), assists (16), points (32) and even-strength points (28) — despite seeing his lowest percentage of offensive-zone shifts (49.5) and pitching in on the penalty kill at times.

“That’s a cool thing for me to get to,” Robertson said of his point totals. “Actually, I think the number of games I’m playing for me matter, too. Because (in 2023-24) I was at 56. Last year was 69.”

The 78 games Robertson played this season marked another personal best. Same with his average ice time of 12:40.

“Really happy with how many games I played and trying to be healthy as well,” he said. “Every year, I wanna play 82 games. But I guess when you get scratched once, it’s, ‘OK, I wanna play 81 games.’ It has really come more in my mind. You kind of think about it. Every year you want to get scratched less and less and less until you play 82 games every year.”

Not overnight but gradually, Robertson has improved his playmaking and defensive acumen. He’s shown more willingness to get physical and has found ways to chip in offensively in mostly third-line and limited second power-play minutes.

We can see the healthy scratches disappearing one day. Maybe that’s in Toronto, maybe not.

“But overall, I think I’ve gotten better this year,” Robertson said. “I’ve become more comfortable, which is important. And we’ll see how things go in the future.”