Maple Leafs need to keep Easton Cowan and give him a legitimate shot

Strongly.

The Leafs have to have some sort of hope for the future in regard to their prospects at forward, don’t they?

The cold reality is that Cowan, fresh off being named the most valuable player in the 2025 Memorial Cup after the London Knights beat the Medicine Hat Tigers in the final in Rimouski, Que., on Sunday night, stands alone in Toronto’s prospect pool.

The date of March 7 was pivotal for the Leafs as it related to its group of youngsters who could one day play in the National Hockey League.

At the trade deadline, Treliving included centre Fraser Minten in a swap with the Boston Bruins to get defenceman Brandon Carlo and, when he acquired forward Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers, winger Nikita Grebenkin was part of the package that went to Philly.

With Minten and Grebenkin gone, there’s quite a drop from Cowan to the next forwards who the Leafs might look to one day to make an impact.

But as for the group that includes Jacob Quillan, Miroslav Holinka, Nick Moldenhauer, Joe Miller and Roni Hirvonen, it might be a stretch to assume that any of them will one day become full-time Leafs. It’s too early to say what Luke Haymes and Ryan Kirwan, both signed out of college this past year, could eventually provide.

Cowan easily is the best of the bunch. What kind of NHL player the 20-year-old eventually develops into is to be determined, yet how can there not be a solid foundation of optimism for someone who has been dominant in the past two Ontario Hockey League seasons?

At his end-of-season media availability last week, Treliving made the comment that “champions have the ability to be calm and at their very best when it matters the most.”

It was in reference to the Florida Panthers and Treliving acknowledged that the Leafs have to find improvement in that regard (no kidding).

The gap between major junior hockey to the NHL undoubtedly is significant. Still, the fact that Cowan, with the Knights, fits Treliving’s champion thoughts to a T has to be a source of encouragement for the organization as a whole.

A year ago, Cowan was named the OHL playoffs MVP and then led the Memorial Cup in scoring, though London lost in the Cup final against the host Saginaw Spirit.

This year, Cowan led the OHL in playoff scoring, leading London to a five-game win against the Oshawa Generals in the final, and led the Memorial Cup in scoring on the way to being named tournament MVP.

With what Cowan has accomplished, there has been a comparison made to what Mitch Marner did with the Knights in the mid-2010s.

Nine years ago, Marner was named the Memorial Cup MVP after London won the 2016 event in Red Deer, Alta., with an overtime victory against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. That was after Marner led the OHL playoffs in scoring as London went 16-2 in the post-season, sweeping Niagara in the final.

The difference — and it’s not a small one — is that Marner did what he did a year ahead of Cowan. Marner turned 19 during the 2015 OHL playoffs. Cowan had his 20th birthday on May 20, three days before the Memorial Cup started.

Marner’s future isn’t known, but that’s only because no one can say with certainty where he will sign on July 1. What seems to be accepted, though we suppose that no door should be completely shut, is that it won’t be with Toronto.

As of now, the Leafs don’t have a first-round pick in each of the next three years.

It’s true that to help fill the void that would result in Marner’s departure, free agency alone won’t get it done.

Treliving is going to have to leave no stone unturned when investigating potential trades.

And it’s also true that, outside of Cowan and Matthew Knies, there aren’t many young forwards (apologies to Nick Robertson) that other teams might insist to include in a trade.

Obviously, including Knies in a deal is not an option. Similar thinking should apply to Cowan.

Once the Leafs get through training camp and the pre-season in September and October, they should have a firm idea of where Cowan slots into the lineup. He has the potential to one day be a difference-maker in the NHL.

At the least, Cowan should get that opportunity with Toronto.

SELKE SUPPORT

Marner and Leafs captain Auston Matthews got some Selke Trophy love, following the pattern that has played out in the past several years.

The Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov was announced as the winner on Monday of the Selke, awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL, finishing ahead of teammate Sam Reinhart and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli.

Marner was seventh in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, marking his third top-10 finish in five years. Marner came closest to winning the Selke in 2022-23 when he was third in voting.

Matthews was 14th in voting, marking the fourth time in four years he has finished in the top 15. In 2023-24, Matthews was third in voting for his best placing to date.