The Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson have reportedly reached a settlement ahead of their arbitration case that was scheduled for Sunday.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, both sides agreed to a contract with a $1.825 million average annual value.
The Leafs confirmed it is a one-yeal deal. When a player elects for salary arbitration, the team can choose whether it would be a one or two-year deal, except in the case when the second year eats into the eligibility of unrestricted fee agency. Toronto could have opted for two years in Robertson's case.
According to Puckpedia.com, it's a one-year deal, which reduced the available cap space on Toronto's books to $1,107,222 based on a roster of 24 players.
Robertson was the last of the 11 player-elected salary arbitration cases in the NHL to be settled, thereby avoiding a hearing. On Friday, Friedman reported that the Leafs submitted comparables with an ask of $2.25 million while the team came in with $1.2 million. Had the case not been settled ahead of the hearing, an arbitrator would have had the final say on Robertson's compensation for the 2025-26 season.
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Follow all Leafs news at https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/The deal gives Robertson a massive $950,000 raise from his 2024-25 salary. The player signed a one-year, $875,000 deal in September after a summer that included a trade request away from Toronto.
'He's Gone Through Some Stuff Here': Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving Excited to Have Nick Robertson BackA new coach and a clean slate await Nick Robertson who reports to Maple Leafs training camp next week.
Robertson established career highs in goals (15) and games (69) last season but was limited to just three of Toronto's 13 playoff games due to lineup decisions.
With star forward Mitch Marner departing the Leafs for the Vegas Golden Knights this summer, players like Robertson will be counted on to fill the void Marner leaves behind on a by-committee basis.
Drafted by the Leafs in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, Robertson has 32 goals and 24 assists in 156 career games spread over five seasons.
(Top image credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)
Maple Leafs Risk Major Mistake If Nick Robertson Isn’t Signed Or Traded Before ArbitrationIt should come as no surprise that Nick Robertson’s pending player-elected arbitration case is the last of all cases this offseason to reach a conclusion. After all, Robertson’s tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs has undeniably been complicated. Drafted by the Maple Leafs in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, his six years in Toronto have been filled with more downs than ups.
Maple Leafs Forward Nick Robertson Files For Salary Arbitration, Timeline, Reasons And What’s Next?For the first time in his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nick Robertson has leverage. The forward filed for salary arbitration on Saturday, which allows a third party to decide his compensation for the upcoming season.
'The Puzzle Has Got To Come Into Play': Maple Leafs Not Rushing Contracts Of RFAs Nick Robertson And Pontus HolmbergWhile the talk of the town might be whether the Toronto Maple Leafs can sign John Tavares before July 1 rolls around, you cannot forget about their younger restricted free agents. Kyle Davidson has done an excellent job drafting and developing as the Chicago Blackhawks' future looks very bright. In a projected top-100 drafted prospects ranking, the Blackhawks have the most prospects to appear with seven.
There are two teams with six prospects, the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, and then five teams with five prospects, including the Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, and Utah Mammoth.
The seven prospects and where they sit are as follows - Artyom Levshunov (7), Anton Frondell (12), Sam Rinzel (26), Kevin Korchinski (62), Oliver Moore (71), Nick Lardis (83), and Sacha Boisvert (87).
Besides the Islanders with five in the top-50, the Blackhawks are tied with the Wild , Mammoth, Blues, and Capitals with three in the top-50.
Levshunov and Frondell are top-3 picks from the last two years and Levshunov will make an impact already next season. Frondell is soon to follow, but compared to some of the other top prospects, he isn't as offensive.
Rinzel was drafted 25th overall the same year Korchinski was taken seventh. Based on how Rinzel looked and the fact that he will be playing top minutes next season for Chicago while Korchinski might start in the AHL again, this flip and separation between the two makes a lot of sense.
While Korchinski may need a change in scenery to get the reps he needs to improve quicker, I think he is a bit too high in the rankings right now. Next season will tell a lot and is a big year for him and the decision the Blackhawks have to make.
Moore, Lardis, and Boisvert are in relatively good spots, with Moore just coming out of college and likely having a spot on the Blackhawks next season, Lardis stepping into pro after a 71 goal, 117 point season in junior, and Boisvert still in college.
There is no Marek Vanacker, Vaclav Nestrasil, Mason West, or Roman Kantserov on the list, but the Blackhawks are still hopeful for these higher draft picks and solid prospects they have.
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There are important factors that go into every pick in the NHL draft. You’ve got the measurables like height and weight, intangibles like character and work rate, not to mention individual skill. However, there are often political reasons as well that could explain why players from some leagues, such as the QMJHL, aren’t selected as often as players from other leagues and vice versa.
Recently, on a Russian podcast, NHL player agent Dan Milstein broke the fourth wall on why teams like the Carolina Hurricanes draft as many Russians as they do. Surprisingly, it isn’t because their scouts enjoy the weather.
After watching recent interviews with Dan Milstein @HockeyAgent1 , the agent for many Russian NHL players, I'm amazed by his simple yet brilliant explanation for why Carolina drafts so many Russian players. pic.twitter.com/bvHXJEcbqj
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) July 28, 2025
He explained that if a player is drafted to the NHL out of the OHL, WHL or QMJHL, teams have two years to sign them before losing their rights. In the NCAA, it is four years.
“That’s why teams, unfortunately, hand out three-year contracts to these kids at 19 to 20 years old,” Milstein explained in Russian.
For players drafted out of Russia, however, the signing rights remain with the NHL team until age 27. That’s a huge difference.
Milstein said most drafted players won’t make the NHL in their first entry-level contract, resulting in the team paying out three years at the AHL rate of $85,000, or $255,000 total.
Whereas if a player was drafted out of Russia, the team could save all that money by delaying signing the player until their age-24 season, when they should be close to making an immediate impact.
Over the past six drafts, 40 percent of players Carolina has drafted (22 of 55) were selected out of Russian pro or junior leagues. Among them, only four have signed entry-level deals.
Despite playing just four games in the NHL, 2020 third-round pick Alexander Nikishin stands as the prime example of why this method has worked. Nikishin has been among the best defensemen in the KHL for the past three seasons, leading blueliners in points twice in that span.
However, detractors and Hurricanes fans would argue that, given his dominance at that level, he should’ve made the jump to the NHL sooner.
The other examples are less flattering.
Gleb Trikozov, a 2022 second-rounder, has struggled to break into a full-time KHL role, leading to him signing with Carolina at 20. His rookie season was a nightmare, starting slow with three points over 20 games in the AHL before a lower-body injury took him out for the remainder of the season.
Alexander Pashin, a 2020 seventh-round pick, was signed at 21 in 2022-23, as he wasn’t able to break through as a KHL regular. Pashin and the Hurricanes agreed to a mutual contract termination after one AHL season, and he is now a prolific KHL scorer, however, his rights are no longer owned by the Hurricanes.
More recently, the Hurricanes signed their 2023 fifth-round pick, Ruslan Khazheyev, to a rookie deal, as the goaltender was not guaranteed pro minutes in Russia. He’s coming off an underwhelming rookie season in the AHL, posting a .876 save percentage through 30 games with the Chicago Wolves.
However, the Hurricanes still have some solid prospects in Russia, namely Semyon Frolov (2025 second round), Nikita Artamonov (2024 second round), Kurban Limatov (2025 third round), Alexander Rykov (2023 fourth round), Vladimir Grudinin (2022 fifth round) and Timur Kol (2024 sixth round).
As this is a money-saving method, the Hurricanes have theoretically saved $1.53 million by selecting the Russian-based players over CHL players. At the absolute most, over this span, the team can save up to $61.2 million assuming the 18 unsigned players do not sign until age 24, four years after CHL rights would otherwise expire.
For teams just learning about this strategy, they’ll be upset to know that rule changes confirmed in the next collective bargaining agreement will eliminate this loophole.
The new CBA, which goes into effect in 2026-27, will have NHL teams retain the signing rights of drafted players until the player turns 22, regardless of what country they were drafted out of.
While this change will effectively close this loophole, with enough time, teams will find new ways to exploit the new rules.
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With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan fast approaching, national teams have begun announcing training camp rosters, and several New Jersey Devils players are in the mix.
For the first time since 2014, NHL players will officially participate in the Olympics. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the news to NHL.com earlier this year:
“We are pleased to confirm that NHL players will be participating in the 2026 Olympic Games,” Bettman told NHL.com. “Olympic participation will showcase the skill and talent of NHL players on an international stage. We are proud to collaborate with the IIHF, NHLPA, and IOC to bring the best hockey players in the world to the Olympics and make this happen in a way that benefits the game globally.”
Each participating country was allowed to name the first six players to their Olympic roster earlier this July. Five Devils have already secured their spots:
Hockey Canada recently released its 42-man orientation camp roster ahead of the Games. While stars like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Cale Makar headline the list, no current or former Devils were invited, despite nine Canadian players on New Jersey's roster.
The NJ Devils team’s current national breakdown is:
Two Devils are widely expected to represent Sweden:
Despite not being named among Sweden’s first six roster players, both are projected by most analysts to make the final team. Bratt made a strong impression in the Four Nations Face-Off, though he’ll still need to earn a spot in final selections.
Markstrom’s case is more complex. He suffered a knee injury during the Four Nations tournament and didn’t appear in any games, which could impact his chances of being named Sweden’s starting goaltender.
While he’s never played in the Olympics, Markstrom has represented Sweden in both the IIHF World Championship and World Junior Championship, and has publicly said that playing in the Olympics is a lifelong dream.
He’s expected to compete for the starting role against:
Team USA has yet to announce its Olympic camp roster, but it’s widely expected that Jack Hughes will be among those selected.
Whether already selected or still competing for a spot, several New Jersey Devils are on track to represent their countries at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. With NHL talent returning to the Games, fans can expect a highly competitive, and star-studded, tournament.
Photo Credit: © David Kirouac-Imagn Images