Getty
Maple Leafs just might keep these forwards around.
Toronto Maple Leafs hockey is officially back.
It might not have been the prettiest of wins, but the Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on the road to kick off the preseason. The Maple Leafs played a Senators lineup of predominantly NHLers while sitting out Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly, just to name a few.
Offensively, Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, William Villeneuve, and Matthew Barbolini all scored one goal for the Maple Leafs. After the game, Craig Berube was complimentary of several players who need to make a good impression at camp to solidify a position with the team this season.
Craig Berube on Nick Robertson
GettyNick Robertson is linked to two more teams.
Robertson’s future with the organization is shaky at best. Re-upping with the Maple Leafs in the summer, he is not guaranteed a roster spot and will need to earn his place.
Following the 4-3 preseason victory, head coach Berube spoke about a few players who stood out to him. For Robertson, Berube acknowledged his strengths, his work ethic, and his goal-scoring.
“He’s a worker, right? That can shoot the puck in the net, and that’s what he did tonight,” Berube said after the 4-3 preseason win. “I mean, I thought Nick worked extremely hard, shot pucks…he played his game tonight. He was highly competitive, I thought.”
Robertson earned 17:15 of ice time, the fourth most among Maple Leafs’ forwards. In addition to scoring the team’s second goal of the game, he recorded three shots – the most of any Maple Leafs player.
The young forward offered his thoughts on the game, as well.
“It was kind of a grind of a game, to be honest,” Robertson said on Sunday night. “It got pretty chippy out there, but I’m happy our guys pulled together to grind through that one. It’s the first game, you just have to get comfortable.”
Craig Berube on Other Maple Leafs’ Forwards
GettyEaston Cowan
Summer reports revealed that the Maple Leafs were looking to shed some salary. Both Jarnkrok and David Kampf were cited as potential salary cap dumps to make room for their desired free agent, Jack Roslovic.
Berube touched on the play of those two players and Easton Cowan following Sunday night’s win.
“I thought our veteran guys, Kampf and Jarnkrok, did a good job of leading the way, playing the right way,” Berube revealed. “Cowan was good tonight, played a simple game, did some good things out there.”
Kampf and Jarnkrok led the forwards in ice time for the Maple Leafs, with 20:11 and 19:00, respectively.
Where the Maple Leafs Go From Here
During the broadcast of the game, the Sportsnet Panel shared a few words about the future of Robertson with the Maple Leafs.
“I still think Robertson is a guy who is going to get 20-25 goals in the league,” Justin Bourne said on the panel. “I believe he can do that, and it’s a pretty one-dimensional thing that he does.”
“But that is a trait that every team in the NHL values.”
Because every team in the NHL values this, there is no doubt that Robertson has value on the trade market. The tricky thing for the Maple Leafs will be taking the best course of action to maximize Robertson’s value.
On one hand, the Maple Leafs can bump up his value by showcasing him in the top six. Having him spend one to two months in that deployment should give him ample opportunity to be productive and provide the other 31 teams a sniff of what his potential is.
On the other hand, the Maple Leafs could just play out the season with Robertson on the team. He’s a young player with an admirable work ethic who will only get better with age.
The Maple Leafs are in action again on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. They play the Senators again, this time at home. Broadcast will start at 7:00 PM EST.
Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney
More Heavy on Maple Leafs
Loading more stories
