Robertson now ranks No. 1 in Toronto and has nine points in his previous nine games heading into Tuesday night's matchup with St. Louis.
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Nine points in last nine games.
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As confident as Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson is, he's not making any assumptions.
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“It’s nice to be a collaborator, but honestly, I never forgot about the constant (Leafs lineup),” Robertson said. “The puck goes in and there's an effort, which I'm happy about, but I don't want to get complacent.
“I have to train well, do my drills well and prepare for the games.”
During a quarter of the season in which the Leafs failed to find common ground with each other, Robertson was able to put previous trade talks aside and keep his head above water.
Robertson was scratched only once, on October 24 in Buffalo's game against the Sabers. He returned to the lineup the next night against the Sabers and scored (following his usual pattern), and after sitting out the scoring against Calgary on Oct. 28, he started the streak he's on now.
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Cementing the site
Given the Leafs' injuries and the lack of consistent production from forwards like Max Domi, Matias Maccelli and Bobby McMann, trading Robertson would be foolish.
At the same time, the 24-year-old is performing at a level that demonstrates he should be in the lineup when (or if) a full complement of healthy forwards is available.
“It’s the nature of the city and the culture in Toronto,” Robertson said of the subsided trade speculation. “I've been hearing trade rumors since the day I stepped foot in Toronto. I don't even think about it.”
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Heading into Tuesday's Leafs home game against the St. Louis Blues, Robertson was seventh in team scoring with 11 points in 18 games.
How coach Craig Berube tries to find the right lineup of forwards with injured captain Auston Matthews, Scott Laughton and Nicholas RoyRobertson isn't going to pass up the chance to play on the top line with John Tavares and William Nylander.
“I need to earn my spot to play with guys like JT and Willie,” Robertson said. “I've seen in this business that anything can happen: guys play a lot of minutes and then they don't play anymore.
“I'm thinking: keep pushing, keep working. It's always the same thing.”
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