Quite some time has passed since Nick Robertson requested a trade from the Maple Leafs and the fact that he hasn’t been traded could be due to his unique situation.

Players request and are granted trades all the time in the NHL, but when it comes to Maple Leafs winger Nick Robertson, we’re coming up on two months since his trade request, and there hasn’t been much to report in the way of progress in trade talks.

Of course, Leafs GM Brad Treliving doesn’t like to involve the media in anything or allow information to leak out about where things are at within the organization, so I’m not sure how much actual information would have been leaked to begin with, but his comments from earlier this summer indicated that he was well aware that there were problems emerging from Robertson’s camp. He also confirmed that Robertson would be counted on this season, which muddies the water a little bit on what may actually occur.

“I obviously have known that there was some frustration with Nick on his behalf. We look at Nick as an excellent player and there’s a great opportunity for Nick here and we need him to be a good player for us.”
-Treliving on Robertson

If Robertson has not yet rescinded his trade request, we can expect some chatter to emerge in the coming weeks, as Robertson has not signed a contract yet and remains a restricted free agent. He’s not likely to show up at training camp without a contract, so either there’s a deal to be made or a trade to be worked out. Either way, a resolution is coming.

As far as why a deal hasn’t been completed yet if Robertson remains steadfast in his desire for a fresh start elsewhere, well that’s really quite simple. His situation is very unique. Robertson was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 2nd round five years ago now. During that time, he’s played just 87 career games for Toronto.

Injuries have been the bane of his existence during his young NHL career and those injuries have severely hampered his development, given the fact that all of them had occurred in key developmental years — most of the injuries significant or even season-ending.

You’d be hard-pressed to find an example of a player who has been traded under similar circumstances, which makes a trade all that much more difficult to negotiate. When there are no comparisons available, it can be challenging to nail down what a proper return would be. The Leafs obviously still value Robertson, and as well they should. But, other teams who value him may not see eye to eye with the Leafs on what he’s worth in a trade, which may be why things have dragged out so long.

Either way, with training camp now just a month away, we’re about to get some information on Robertson one way or the other. Hopefully we have a resolution prior to training camp, in the form of either a new deal or a healthy trade return for the once promising young prospect.