When Easton Cowan cracked the Toronto Maple Leafs roster to start the season, it was well deserved as he was doing the little things right and competing hard.
At times throughout the season, we’ve witnessed the tenacity, speed and skill that he can bring. Then, there have been times where being a rookie showed and he needed to sit for a game or two. However, after missing multiple games since he last played on Jan. 29th against the Seattle Kraken, Cowan has been scratched for five straight games and twice coming back from the Olympic break against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
The Maple Leafs won the three games before the break, but have lost their last two since coming back and without Cowan in the fold. The coaching staff scratching Cowan for this long and not letting him see any ice time is a failure on their part by not letting him learn and develop properly.
Mixed Messaging With Cowan
Back before the season started, head coach Craig Berube said that Cowan showed them that he is ready to make the jump and crack the roster for the regular season.
With players coming back from the Olympic break, Berube said that he’s “definitely an important part of the team”. Then proceeds to scratch him for two important games against divisional opponents. As Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan states, if he’s important to the team, then give him the opportunity and necessary reps and ice time needed to succeed and prove he’s a valuable asset to the team. (from, ‘Making the case for Easton Cowan’s inclusion in the Maple Leafs lineup’, Toronto Sun – 2/24/26)
Especially now with the playoffs slowly starting to fade away, why not give him more minutes and experience down this stretch where he can play a role and elevate his game for next season?vScratching him for as long as Berube has isn’t the right way to go about this in regard to Cowan’s development. There’s no excuse for Cowan not to play over someone like Calle Jarnkrok, who has had little to no impact in the 37 games he has played. Cowan’s 17 points exceeds Jarnkrok’s seven points and Cowan can impact the game in areas more so than Jarnkrok.
With players to have played 300 minutes at five-on-five on the Maple Leafs, Cowan has the best goals for percentage with 57.89% and a high danger goals for percentage of 85.71%. Jarnkrok is not even hitting 40% in both categories. Cowan also has 39-16 advantage in high danger and medium shots compared to Jarnkrok.
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Cowan’s a rookie and there were going to be highs and lows for him this season. Yes, he has taken bad penalties and even had an egregious turnover in overtime against the Detroit Red Wings that led to Dylan Larkin’s game-winning goal. That was a tough situation for him and he could’ve handled that play better, but constantly making the rookie the odd man out is not the right way of going about this. Especially with your top prospect, where he is going to be a key piece for you in the future.
Cowan’s Can’t Lose Focus
Not playing any games for over a month for a rookie isn’t a good situation to be in. What’s even worse, is that they didn’t send him down ahead of the Olympics to stay fresh and get meaningful minutes in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies until the break ended. That is not handling a key asset properly.
With that time off, it’s a great chance for players to reset and regroup. For a young and skilled player like Cowan– who was struggling– that could be the best thing to get ready and focussed. However, if and when he does get inserted into the lineup, he’s going to be rusty as the extended scratches and lack of play time could be an issue for when he returns. The mistakes could pile on or it could be motivation for Cowan and he’ll be driven to prove the coaching staff wrong.
I get you want to hold him accountable for mistakes, but you still need him to get as much time as possible for his development. A lot of the pro players continue to make the same mistakes every game– more so than Cowan– and they continue to stay in the lineup. The game against the Panthers is a prime example of veterans making egregious mistakes and players should’ve been benched for their errors just like Cowan. Berube and his staff need to play Cowan as that is the only true way that he can learn from his mistakes. I understand that messages need to be sent, but this is the last player you want to send a message to when he hasn’t been that bad this season.
Related: 2 Key Areas of the Maple Leafs to Watch After the Olympic Break
Cowan brings a lot of energy and youth into the lineup. Given how lethargic this team can be, having his speed and skill could be what this team needs down the stretch. Scratching him for long stretches isn’t the best way to go about this for his development. If and when other players get moved, that’s his chance to run with a spot and prove that he’s ready for the minutes and have an expanded role.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and NHL EDGE.
