After a very back-and-forth offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free-agent forward Nick Robertson have come to terms on a one-year, $875,000 contract.

Robertson, who turns 23 tomorrow, signs his new deal despite several reports throughout the summer stating he’d prefer a change of scenery. After battling injury issues for the better part of his hockey career to date, he appeared in a career-high 56 games with the Maple Leafs last season, scoring 14 goals and adding 13 assists. He played just over 11 minutes per game and dealt with trust issues from former head coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe continued to pull Robertson out of the lineup throughout last season, citing defensive flaws in his game.

With Craig Berube now behind the bench, it appears Berube’s reassurance to Robertson recently that he’d be given every chance to succeed in Toronto was a big game-changer for contract negotiations and the player’s willingness to stick around. Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report yesterday that the two sides were coming together on a solution moving forward.

The Pasadena, CA native will have a golden opportunity to impress his new coach come training camp next week as the Maple Leafs will have serious internal competition for their left-wing slots. Robertson will be among the likes of Matthew Knies, Bobby McMann, Easton Cowan and Pontus Holmberg, who will all be vying to solidify their spot in Toronto’s lineup and do their best to impress Berube enough to carve out a role this season.

Look for Robertson to get a look among the top three lines throughout training camp as Berube will be looking to find the right combination of forwards heading into the regular season. Last season he was caught in a numbers game with an abundance of forwards competing for spots in training camp at the start of the year, but with a noticeable gap on the left side, he will have a legitimate leg up on his competition for a spot in the top-six due to his goal-scoring ability, and as mentioned, will have a clean slate under a new head coach.

The Maple Leafs open training camp in just under a week and start their preseason schedule on September 22 when they host the Ottawa Senators.