The Maple Leafs are moving on from forward Nick Robertson.
Toronto shipped the rights to Robertson - a restricted free agent who received a $1.8 million qualifying offer from Toronto earlier this week - to Pittsburgh for a 2028 fourth-round pick on Wednesday, right before NHL free agency officially opened at 12 pm ET.
The transaction reunites Robertson with Penguins' general manager Kyle Dubas, who was previously GM of the Leafs from 2018-23 and drafted Robertson in the second round, 53rd overall, in 2019.
Robertson had a tumultuous tenure in Toronto that spanned three full seasons through which he rarely found a consistent role. He'd been pushed into a bottom-six slot for the club and was a healthy scratch for stretches of the last two seasons, which led to a (never materializing) trade request last summer.
Ultimately, Robertson signed back-to-back one-year contracts to stay in Toronto, but recently switched agents (to Pat Brisson), leading to further speculation he'd be wanting a fresh start. That trade request has now, under new GM John Chayka, finally come to fruition. And Robertson seemed resigned to his fate when last speaking with the media in April.
"I don't know what my future holds," he said when the Leafs' season ended. "I'm not going to take a deep dive [into it]."
The 2025-26 campaign was Robertson's strongest statistical year in the NHL, with 16 goals and 32 points in 78 games. Robertson - who has arbitration rights - will now either translate that upswing into a new contract and opportunity with Pittsburgh, or the Penguins could leverage him as part of another packaged deal as free agency and the offseason get into full swing.