Quoting: ChiHawk
Kerfoot is a solid player but apples and oranges. Kubalik is a bonafide top 6 guy and one of the hardest shots in the NHL, but he needs a play maker setup guy which he doesn't have in Chicago currently. When given that, he's a 25+ goal scorer not to mention not bad defensively and pretty quick on break-aways. Kerfoot is not that guy obviously so it's apples and oranges but why not have both in the top 6 then? That said, Robertson is the Leafs top prospect perhaps but not "a" top prospect. I'd put him at a A- prospect which is good but let's be realistic; is Robertson going to be better then Kubalik, Kerfoot, Marner or Nylander? So what's his role? Robertson is not the bottom 6 type of guy IMO, he's going to need a top 6 role with his skill. The late 1st is a bag of magic beans statistically (30% of becoming a bonafide NHL player including bottom line) so I wouldn't act like that's moving the needle as much you might think especially in a bad draft year. De Haan and Kubalik help the Leafs achieve their goals this year, and next year is Kubalik worth Robertson is the question, I'd say yes but as you said it's about the cap hit.
Why not have both Kerfoot and Kubalik in the top 6?
1. Cap. They need to allocate cap space elsewhere for areas that they need improvement - scoring is not one of those areas.
2. There isn't room for both of them. With Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander, and Bunting already there it leaves 1 spot open. 2 guys can't fill 1 spot.
If Toronto wanted to add scoring they'd simply recall Robertson from the minors and add to it for cheaper and not losing any assets. But the kid has been out the majority of the season with a broken leg and hasn't played much pro hockey in 3 years because of injuries and covid, so they're letting him develop. When he's ready, there's little doubt he'll be better than both Kerfoot and Kubalik and by then Toronto will have the cap space to keep him.
You say Kubalik needs a playmaker in order to score goals - Robertson doesn't. He scores a bunch, can still be a playmaker, is defensively reliable, and can be a pain in the ass to play against. He's everything Toronto needs - he's Brad Marchand in the making, just needs time to develop since he hasn't played in awhile.