- May 21, 2026
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a move to bolster their depth scoring, as they have acquired winger Nick Robertson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The move marks the second time that Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has brought Robertson to an organization, as he drafted the American winger to the Leafs with the No. 53 overall pick in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Robertson has been the subject of several rounds of trade speculation since then, and now the situation is finally resolved with an opportunity awaiting on a team in need of depth scoring.
A native of Pasadena, California, Robertson set career highs in goals, assists and points this season with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 78 games played. While it was the most productive year of his career based on raw totals, it was not on a per-game basis. His .41 point-per-game clip in 2025-26 sits behind the .48 mark he put up in 2023-24, when he racked up 27 points in 56 appearances.
Last season, Pittsburgh earned a surprising berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a slew of moves similar to this one paid dividends, as Anthony Mantha racked up 64 points and Justin Brazeau chipped in 34 points in 64 appearances.
Mantha is likely to depart in unrestricted free agency this week, so a move to acquire another potentially undervalued scoring winger like Robertson fits the bill for the Penguins.
Robertson is a restricted free agent, so he will need a new contract worked out this offseason. So too does Egor Chinakhov, a fellow RFA who thrived after coming over in the middle of the regular season in a trade with Columbus.
According to PuckPedia, Dubas has just under $36 million in space under the upper limit of the salary cap to get those deals done and make further additions to the roster this summer.
Continue reading...
The move marks the second time that Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has brought Robertson to an organization, as he drafted the American winger to the Leafs with the No. 53 overall pick in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Robertson has been the subject of several rounds of trade speculation since then, and now the situation is finally resolved with an opportunity awaiting on a team in need of depth scoring.
A native of Pasadena, California, Robertson set career highs in goals, assists and points this season with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 78 games played. While it was the most productive year of his career based on raw totals, it was not on a per-game basis. His .41 point-per-game clip in 2025-26 sits behind the .48 mark he put up in 2023-24, when he racked up 27 points in 56 appearances.
Last season, Pittsburgh earned a surprising berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a slew of moves similar to this one paid dividends, as Anthony Mantha racked up 64 points and Justin Brazeau chipped in 34 points in 64 appearances.
Mantha is likely to depart in unrestricted free agency this week, so a move to acquire another potentially undervalued scoring winger like Robertson fits the bill for the Penguins.
Robertson is a restricted free agent, so he will need a new contract worked out this offseason. So too does Egor Chinakhov, a fellow RFA who thrived after coming over in the middle of the regular season in a trade with Columbus.
According to PuckPedia, Dubas has just under $36 million in space under the upper limit of the salary cap to get those deals done and make further additions to the roster this summer.
Continue reading...