Nick Robertson will be wearing a new jersey for the first time in his career in October, when he makes his debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins after a six-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Penguins acquired Robertson from the Maple Leafs for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on July 1, and signed the 24-year-old forward to a two-year contract just two weeks later.
Robertson joined OverDrive on TSN1050 on Thursday to discuss his time in Toronto, his expectations joining the Penguins and the prospect of playing with Sidney Crosby.
“It’s been great to get the [contract signed], and to not have to go to arbitration is nice,” Robertson said. “I’m just excited for this opportunity, it’s like a fresh start so I’m really pumped and can’t wait to get to Pittsburgh.”
Robertson was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He made his debut with the team in the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets in August of 2020, and played a total of 234 regular-season games over the past six seasons with the blue and white.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing with the Maple Leafs and Robertson, though. Robertson was often unhappy with his role on the team, as he felt he was shuttled between the AHL and NHL clubs too often during the 2023-24 season, and went so far as to request a trade during the summer of 2024.
He talked about what he learned during his tenure in Toronto, and what he could take away from it as he moves on to a new opportunity.
Robertson said his main lesson in Toronto was to always be ready.
“Toronto is such a talented team, and I would get in the mix with some players and I had to be on my game all the time, whether it was with [former Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock] or [Sheldon Keefe] in my first full year, so I always had to be on top of my game,” Robertson said. “I think it’s always a blessing in disguise because you can’t get complacent whether you’re up or down in the lineup you gotta work your way to either get up in the lineup or to stay there so that’s kind of been my experience with that.”
Robertson repeatedly pointed to the ‘change of scenery’ aspect when talking about why he was excited for the move to Pittsburgh from Toronto.
“Toronto, with the market there and even just the city, it’s pretty ‘go, go, go’ with the Maple Leafs,” Robertson said. “Obviously it’s a change of scenery in every aspect - in the rink, outside the rink, facility-wise, and I’ve heard that [the Penguins’] facility and their staff is amazing and I know a lot of their staff so I’m pretty aware with that. Finding out you’re getting traded- let alone to Pittsburgh - is great so I’m just looking forward to getting there.”
There are a lot of familiar faces in Pittsburgh’s management team, starting with their president of hockey operations and general manager, Kyle Dubas - who was the GM in Toronto that drafted Robertson back in 2019.
Dubas has brought over a few members of his management team from Toronto to Pittsburgh, including assistant general manager Jason Spezza and, more recently, former Maple Leafs assistant GM Brandon Pridham, who was hired as a hockey operations consultant on Wednesday.
“I’ve talked to a handful of [former Leafs personnel in the Penguins organization], I’m sure I’m going to see them soon when I go to Pittsburgh in a couple weeks or so,” Robertson said. “For me, the transition of going to a new team, it’s very rare you have guys that have been with you, let alone a GM that drafted you, so I think it’s an advantage for me.”
On the ice, Robertson is most excited to get to team up with Crosby, who has been a face of the league since he was drafted in 2005.
“Right away, when I got traded to Pittsburgh, [Crosby] was the first guy to text me, so it was very nice to hear from him,” Robertson said. “Obviously Sidney Crosby is a legend in the game: his leadership, the way he plays, how hard he plays, a good two-way game.
“From my perspective playing against him, he’s just so strong on the puck, so smart and confident, and I look forward to learning from him about his leadership, how he is as a teammate, the way he carries himself, and I’m going to do everything I can to kind of learn from him and apply that to my game.”
