{"id":173035,"date":"2025-09-27T15:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/173035\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:08:09","slug":"maple-leafs-receive-strong-message-now-on-easton-cowan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/173035\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs’ Receive Strong Message Now on Easton Cowan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Easton\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

What do the Toronto Maple Leafs do with Easton Cowan?<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> want to win. The coaching staff and management don\u2019t mind which players are in which roles as long as the W\u2019s roll in; however, when it comes to players like Easton Cowan<\/a>, placement matters.<\/p>\n

Bruce Boudreau believes that the Maple Leafs need to take an all-or-nothing approach to Cowan. He made an appearance on The Leafs Morning Take podcast to share his thoughts.<\/p>\n

Bruce Boudreau on Easton Cowan<\/p>\n

For Cowan to have success at the NHL level, he should be playing with one of John Tavares, Matthew Knies<\/a>, or Auston Matthews<\/a>. Being a team player is necessary, but his role needs to align with his skills.<\/p>\n

Boudreau, a former head coach of the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> and Anaheim Ducks<\/a>, expressed his feelings about Cowan\u2019s trajectory with the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m all for going down to the Marlies,\u201d Boudreau said on the September 26th episode<\/a> of Leafs Morning Take. \u201cOne of the rules that Bob Murray (taught)\u2026he was great at saying, if you weren\u2019t going to play 12 minutes in the NHL on a game-to-game basis, you\u2019re going down to the minors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to develop down there by playing 17 minutes plus. You\u2019re not sitting on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boudreau expanded on that reasoning by offering details on why playing on the fourth line isn\u2019t an excellent scenario for a young player.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually (with) fourth lines, if the game is close, you\u2019re playing eight minutes or less,\u201d the former coach explained.<\/p>\n

He then revealed his approach to Cowan for the upcoming 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would want him playing full minutes, being in important positions with the Marlies, if it was me,\u201d Boudreau said. \u201cRather than playing a fourth-line role up in Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs Can\u2019t Let Cowan Work up From 4th Line\"Easton<\/p>\n

GettyWhat do the Toronto Maple Leafs do with Easton Cowan?<\/p>\n

The unfortunate reality of the Maple Leafs\u2019 cap situation has them in a bind. They need valuable players on inexpensive contracts. They also need to utilize their skilled players\u2019 skills.<\/p>\n

The question the Maple Leafs need to ask themselves is this: do they want Cowan to be a helpful player, or do they want to maximize his potential, resulting in him being a Calder Trophy Finalist?<\/p>\n

Calder Trophy Winners Play Big Minutes\"Connor<\/p>\n

GettyConnor Bedard with the Calder Trophy<\/p>\n

When you look at the last four Calder Trophy Winners, they all have one thing in common. All of them served their team in prominent roles.<\/p>\n

The last four Calder winners are Lane Hutson<\/a> of the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>, Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>, Matty Beniers of the Seattle Kraken, and Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings.<\/a><\/p>\n

How can we tell if a player is in a prominent role or not? The easiest way is ice time.<\/p>\n

Last year, Huston averaged 22:44 in ice time<\/a>. The other defender, Seider, averaged 23:02<\/a> when he won the Calder. The forwards, Bedard and Beniers, played 19:47<\/a> and 17:06<\/a>, respectively, in the years they took home the top rookie award.<\/p>\n

All four of these winners didn\u2019t have to work up from the fourth line or the bottom pairing. They started the year in a big role and finished the year in a big role.<\/p>\n

Another factor to consider is the rest of the team. If every other line is playing like they should, including Cowan on the fourth line, now they have created a new problem for themselves that wasn\u2019t necessary. Coaches don\u2019t like to fix what isn\u2019t broken, and if Cowan excels in a bottom-six role and every other line is doing well, nothing motivates the coach to mix up the lines.<\/p>\n

Promoting Cowan up the lineup during the regular season sounds like a nice, safe approach. However, if they want to maximize his potential and not just settle for \u201cuseful,\u201d they need to be all-in, either in Toronto or with the Marlies.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tCaleb Kerney<\/a> Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Maple Leafs\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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