Easton Cowan was assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, after spending 10 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cowan established himself as one of the team’s best forwards through the opening month of the season, extending plays within the offensive zone, while showing off his strong hockey intelligence and relentless work ethic.
While the move was met with the consensus understanding that Cowan could benefit from further playing time with the Marlies, I found myself categorically against it, so here are some quick thoughts on the 20-year-old being sent to the AHL.
Berube on Cowan: “Cowboy did a lot with the puck, skated well through the neutral zone, made plays in the offensive zone. It looked like him and (Tavares) read off each other well, created some scoring opportunities. Cowan has the ability to make those little plays in tight.” https://t.co/wvj4yhJgoZ
— Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) November 3, 2025
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- Proponents of Cowan’s move to the Marlies will argue that he will benefit from further playing time. Cowan averaged 12 minutes and 33 seconds of ice time with the Maple Leafs, and some would argue that isn’t enough ice time for a player at this stage of their development. The counterpoint: not all minutes are created equal, especially when Cowan was placed in the top-six, tasked with generating further puck touches for Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander. And he’s surely not lacking confidence, which brings me to my next point.
- Cowan was promoted to the top power play unit ahead of Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a reward for his strong play to date. Toronto stalled during its one power play opportunity during that game, where the entries were poor, and Pittsburgh were able to prepare for the attack. Cowan wasn’t remotely phased by the stakes ahead, telling reporters that he’s played on the power play before. We’re not saying he should necessarily replace one of Matthews, Knies, Tavares and Nylander. It’s merely that Cowan could be an asset to the second power play group, and the timing of his promotion, only to be sent to the Marlies directly after, almost creates a whiplash effect.
- If the idea is merely that Cowan doesn’t require waivers, and therefore offers the path of least resistance for Scott Laughton to rejoin the team, then it’s a lot more palatable then presenting the move as one where the player required more time in a less competitive league. That hasn’t been the case.
- Cowan has one goal and four points in 10 games, so it’s not like he was going to unseat Matthew Schaefer or Ivan Demidov in the Calder Trophy race. Let’s take a look at his underlying numbers: the Maple Leafs control 58.4 percent of the expected goals when Cowan is on the ice at 5-on-5, with a plus-one goal differential, and plus-five shot differential via Natural Stat Trick. Considering that Cowan has been deployed across all four lines this season, it’s an indication that he’s providing winning minutes for the Maple Leafs. He’s easily been one of the team’s best 12 forwards to start the year, and that should be the lone criteria for a team that is trying to win now.
- All of this could be rendered moot if Cowan is called up again, and he seems completely ready to dominate at the AHL level. Toronto submitted one of its best games of the season with Cowan out of the lineup, a 5-3 victory over an ascending Utah Mammoth squad. So again, perhaps this argument will be viewed as contrarian, and perhaps needless for a team that is quietly scoring a ton of goals. Cowan did what was asked of him with the Leafs, he can be deployed in a number of roles, and the popular thinking will eventually prevail that he’s one of the team’s best 12 forwards, the only criteria that ought to matter in April.
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