NHL insider wants Leafs to get rid of Nick Robertson after tripping William Nylander

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Daniel Lucente
September 27, 2024 (7:05 PM)

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In last night's Leafs game, Nick Robertson tried to give William Nylander a boost by pushing him with his stick, which nearly caused a major injury.

Injuries keep mounting during the NHL preseason, and the Toronto Maple Leafs avoided a big one. Star forward William Nylander left a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens after taking a knee to the head on a play that was avoidable. Teammate Nick Robertson tried to slingshot Nylander forward with a stick shove, a common trick in the NHL. But with it being preseason, some have questioned whether Robertson should have avoided that type of risky move. The good news is that Nylander does appear to be okay.

Other clubs haven't been quite as lucky. The Los Angeles Kings could be without veteran defenseman Drew Doughty for some period of time after he suffered a serious injury following a collision. Meanwhile, a whole host of stars, including Rasmus Dahlin, Erik Karlsson, and Ilya Sorokin, have joined the chorus of preseason injuries that have raised eyebrows throughout the league.

Former NHL defenseman Jordan Schmaltz weighed in on the Robertson play with a tweet. While Schmaltz recognized that he knows what Robertson was trying to do, he felt that preseason isn't a time when that sort of risk is really necessary. There isn't as much on the line in these games, so teams should be trying to limit injury risk as much as possible in them.

Fortunately, head coach of the Maple Leafs, Craig Berube, came forward and said Nylander seemed fine, which eliminates the need to fret over anything serious. Nevertheless, this was a wake-up call, the better part of caution, with regard to head injuries from hockey. A knee to the head can be extremely dangerous, and though the slingshot technique works well, there needs to be a lot of caution utilized in using it effectively.

This continues to feed the debate on whether or not the NHL preseason is too long. It's a season that can get derailed when key players go down in meaningless games, but while Nick Robertson atoned for that miscue with the game-winner, it did underline the need for a balance between preparation and player safety.