Craig Berube has made a lineup change ahead of Monday's game against Tampa Bay, with Nick Robertson coming out after struggling over the past few games.
Monday's game against Tampa Bay is a crucial one for the Maple Leafs as they are able to close the gap on the Atlantic-leading Lightning, and give themselves a bit of momentum heading into another tough stretch of games.
The team is still reeling from injuries to their starting goalies and top-four defensemen, and it briefly looked like they were down another with Scott Laughton missing practice but Craig Berube clarified he was just resting.
Nick Robertson finds himself out of the lineup on Monday
One player who won't be playing on Monday however is Nick Robertson, as the Maple Leafs have decided to have him sit in favor of Calle Jarnkrok.
Craig Berube explained the reasoning behind the decision to reporters at Monday's morning skate, saying it was nothing personal; just a way to reset his game a bit.
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Robertson has only scored two points over his last ten games and while he has shown glimpses of brilliance at times, it hasn't been as consistent as they team would like.
That may be due to their own decisions however, as the team has added Max Domi in the top-six as opposed to Robertson, and while it's been successful for Domi all things considered, it pushed Robertson down into a line he couldn't generate much offense with.
He was shifted to the fourth line with Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz, and while nothing against them; they aren't the offensive powerhouses that Robertson seems to thrive off of.
Will Nick Robertson stay scratched for Toronto?
We've seen this rodeo before. Robertson gets scratched, comes back, gets hot, then cools off almost as fast. It might not be a matter of trying to reset him to where he was, but putting him back to where he does best.
Robertson, 24, has 12 points in 27 games (6 goals, 6 assists) while adding a minus-two, 28 hits, 15 blocks and zero PIM.
Jarnkrok coming in helps give Toronto a bit more defense at the cost of scoring, but he's not a long-term solution.
Why wouldn't you give Robertson every chance in the top-six, knowing that he's still young and hungry? Sticking him on the fourth line is only going to give him crumbs.
He went from playing 15-17 minutes a night down to under 10, with only 6:58 total against Montreal. Under seven minutes to do something. That's unfeasible for his development, and he's only going to continue struggling without being given a chance.
If Toronto doesn't start having faith and trust in Robertson to be an impactful player every night, then it might be time to consider moving him to a team that will.