In today’s NHL rumour rundown, Nicholas Robertson has signed a new extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is a sure-fire lock for the opening-night lineup. Elsewhere, Nazem Kadri reacted to Team Canada’s announcement regarding the player invites for the Olympic team. Finally, the Vancouver Canucks have been linked to a pair of centers.
Robertson’s Contract Doesn’t Guarantee He Stays
It was announced Saturday morning (Aug. 2) that Robertson and the Maple Leafs have avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.875 million. While a contract extension is always promising for a player and their future, in this case, it doesn’t guarantee that Robertson is going to stick with the Leafs.
Robertson has requested a trade in the past, and while that wish wasn’t fulfilled right away, it doesn’t appear that Robertson is a full-time part of the Maple Leafs’ lineup. Over the course of the last season, Robertson was scratched regularly and wasn’t happy with that. He was still productive, scoring 15 goals in 69 games, but away from the puck, he didn’t do enough to be there full-time, including in the playoffs.
Related: Nicholas Robertson, Maple Leafs Avoid Arbitration With One-Year Deal
The Maple Leafs lost Mitch Marner this offseason, and used the cap space from that, and the cut to John Tavares’ salary, to bring in Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, and Michael Pezzetta. The depth spots in the forward group are going to have some fierce competition. Most of these players don’t play the role of an offensive threat, like Robertson could be, but there aren’t very many promises that can be made with the current players on the roster.
Kadri Confused About Lack of Invite To Olympic Orientation
Hockey Canada announced that they have made their invites to their Olympic team orientation. Whenever there is a major hockey event where there are only a certain number of invites, teams like Canada and the USA generate a ton of buzz about the snubs and who wasn’t invited. There are some notable names omitted from Team Canada this time around, including Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, Mat Barzal, Dylan Guenther, and Jared Spurgeon.
Despite the back-and-forth, we never hear much from the players declared as snubs, but Kadri opted to comment on Bardown’s Instagram post with a trio of question marks.
Nazem Kadri comments on being left off Canada's Orientation Camp roster.
— BarDown (@BarDown) August 2, 2025
HT (IG/43kadri) pic.twitter.com/5O4MoEjIb7
While there isn’t a ton of depth to the comment, having an NHL player express themselves like that isn’t common. It could be a genuine response, and Kadri could be feeling like he deserved a spot over some of the other invitees, but it could be in a playful way as well. Team Canada at the Olympics is one of the hardest rosters to crack, and there are countless players who likely feel that they have earned a spot, and were not invited.
Canucks Linked to Rossi & Kotkaniemi
After dealing J.T. Miller last season and losing Pius Suter in free agency, the Canucks went from a very strong center core to a questionable one, especially with the question marks around Elias Pettersson’s performance. On the Sekeres and Price show, Jeff Marek mentioned Marco Rossi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi when talking about who the Canucks could bring in.
While they weren’t specifically mentioned as a team connected to both players, for Marek to bring them up multiple times throughout the show, there is at least the idea of a trade somewhere. In the context that Marek was speaking in, he was expressing that bringing in one of those two certainly helps with the center position on the team, but isn’t going to be the core piece to help shape the next era of Canucks.
They would be more of the secondary core behind players like Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko, but having that kind of group is necessary, and right now, the Canucks only have Brock Boeser and Filip Hronek in that tier, and debatable Conor Garland and Jake DeBrusk.
