The Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Nick Robertson have avoided the player’s upcoming arbitration hearing after agreeing to a two-year contract on Tuesday. The deal carries an average annual value of $3.25 million.
The new contract with his new team sees Robertson get quite the raise from the $1.82 million cap hit he had with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.
General manager Kyle Dubas, who drafted Robertson in the second round of the 2019 NHL draft, clearly sees untapped potential with the 24-year-old,
who recorded career highs last season with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 78 games.
In 234 career NHL games, Robertson has tallied 48 goals, 40 assists, and 88 points along with a career 12.5 shooting percentage. Yet he’s only averaged 11:52 of ice time over that span, in line with bottom-six deployment.
With this new contract in place, we have a better idea of what kind of player Dubas envisions Robertson to be: a top-nine forward and perhaps the latest successful reclamation project in Pittsburgh.
That kind of money won’t sit in the press box as the 13th forward, even with a skyrocketing salary cap.
Had the Penguins viewed Robertson as merely a depth winger, they could have sought a shorter or cheaper bridge contract. Instead, agreeing to terms before the hearing at that cap hit suggests Pittsburgh expects Robertson to play meaningful minutes.
Could this be another classic “change of scenery” trade that propels Robertson to new heights? He has been viewed as someone whose production hasn’t matched his opportunity.
His goals/60 at 5v5 was 0.96 last season, per Natural Stat Trick, an impressive rate given his average ice time, indicating his efficiency as a finisher.
However, he’s historically logged limited minutes, never getting consistent top-six ice time or looks on the power play. Robertson spent much of his career buried behind established wingers like Matthew Knies, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Even after Marner’s departure, Gavin McKenna is expected to occupy a prominent role on the wing.
Robertson’s numbers may not jump off the page, but they become more compelling when viewed alongside his limited usage.
Dubas has repeatedly targeted players who possess NHL tools but haven’t found stable roles elsewhere.
Rather than paying premium prices in free agency, the Penguins have increasingly targeted younger players who have flashed NHL ability but lacked opportunity. Justin Brazeau arrived from Boston looking for a larger role, while Egor Chinakhov represented another gamble on a talented winger whose development had stalled in Ohio’s capital city.
As of this way-too-early off-season projection, Robertson figures to slot into the third line flanking Ben Kindel with Andrei Kuzmenko.
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Whether Robertson ultimately becomes a 20-goal scorer or simply another depth forward remains to be seen. But Tuesday’s contract makes one thing clear: Dubas sees far more in Robertson than the role he was given in Toronto.
