Nicholas Robertson and the Penguins agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million contract Tuesday, per NHL.com, settling his salary arbitration case two weeks before the July 28 hearing date that had been assigned just a day earlier. The deal carries a $3.25 million average annual value.
The timeline here moved fast. Pittsburgh acquired Robertson from Toronto on July 1, the restricted free agent filed for arbitration less than two weeks later, and the hearing date landed Monday. By Tuesday the two sides had a deal — the pattern that has defined this arbitration season, where cases keep settling almost as soon as the calendar makes them real.
The contract is a bet on opportunity. Robertson, 24, scored 16 goals with 32 points in 78 games in a constrained role in Toronto last season; TSN notes the move to Pittsburgh gives him a legitimate chance at a larger offensive role than the Leafs ever carved out for him. Two years at a modest number gives the Penguins a look at whether the shooting talent scales with minutes, and gives Robertson a second contract negotiation at 26 if it does.
It also thins the arbitration docket to the storyline everyone is actually watching: Nicholas’ older brother Jason, whose hearing with the Stars is set for July 25 and whose standoff in Dallas — expected by earlier reporting to resolve before the date — is the biggest unresolved contract in the league. One Robertson signed Tuesday. The market is waiting on the other.
