The Toronto Maple Leafs Ask the Montreal Canadiens to start the season, and one question continues to generate debates about TV panels, Radio-Call-ins and pub tables: should the 20-year-old Easton Cowan be in that line-up?
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It is a question that cuts deeper than one game. It goes without saying how the Maple Leafs see themselves – are they willing to risk young people and finesse against a bruises, or will they choose grit and experience in which promises are a hostile home opener?
In the video below, the hockey panel presents its arguments.
The for Cowan is part of the opening setup
Cowan Did nothing wrong This preseason. According to most accounts, he has done more than enough to earn his place. His skating spreads, his competitive level jumps off the page, and he is one of those rare prospects that veterans leave and notice. A panel member bricked it: “They put him on the Roster for a reason. He did nothing not to earn it.”
That is important. The Maple Leafs have a history of cooking from their prospects, so that they stay in the minors long after they have shown that they are ready. Cowan has already demonstrated in Junior and in the camp that he is not only playing the game – he disfigure It.
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The second reason is simple: Toronto needs SAP. The Canadiens come out of it, led by Arber Xhekaj and a pack of attackers who have just finished throwing 150 penalty minutes to the Ottawa Senators in a pre-season reporting energy issues in those competitions. Cowan does not shun contact with contact and he can take a spark that sometimes misses this Maple Leafs team when they try to make their way through the boring parts of a long schedule.
And finally there is the fan factor. A home opener is not just a game; It’s a show. The audience will buzz, the lights will be hot and fans want to see the child they have read all summer. Against him for ‘development’ when he has already been proven that he runs the risk of emptying part of that electricity from the opening evening.
The In return for Cowan is part of the opening setup
And yet there is the other side. A group of voices (led by Nick Kypreos) states that the Maple Leafs would be wise to keep their powder dry. “Cowan is better off from six to eight minutes a night against the Canadiens,” asked an analyst, “or 15-20 minutes with the [Toronto] Marlies, running the Power Play and being ‘the man’? ‘
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It is a reasonable point. Throwing a teenager in an NHL opener against a Canadiens team that is looking for toughness may not be the best baptism. Kypreos argued, ‘I want a harder line – up for this – give me Pezzetta on the fourth line. That is the man I want to crash in the muscle of Montreal, not Cowan. “
It’s not that Cowan not Treat himself – he has shown a lot of backbone. But there is a danger in confusing willingness with certainty. Let him build trust, let him pick up touches, let him be the go-to-guy in the minors until Toronto needs him to be the solution.
Rooster Mathematics suggests patience, except …
There is also the Roster Math. Calle Järnkrok, David Kämpf (who was abandoned on Friday), and Nicholas Robertson are all in the dark, waiting to see how this shakes. Returning, transactions and salary capgymnastiek is still looming. The presence of Cowan complicates things when general director Brad Treliving is preferred. Sometimes patience is the smarter long game.
Except one thing. A case can be made that held Robertson and moved him back to the American Hockey League for several seasons considerably impeded its development.
For Cowan and the Maple Leafs: Promise of Patience?
The debate about Cowan’s site in the arrangement of the opening evening is officially spilled in the spotlight. On Hockey Central, the panel struggled with the question: should the Maple Leafs the 19-year-old roles against the rival Canadiens, or should he wait better in turn?
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On the one hand, the argument is simple – Cowan has earned it. He has done everything to be asked to be in the camp, his energy jumps off the ice and you do not distribute any schedule spots for nothing. On the other hand, cooler heads warn that a bruising against Montreal is not the right place for a teenager who logs in eight minutes a night. It is better to let him dominate with the Marlies and to build trust, while other veterans do the heavy work.
It is a classic Maple Leafs Conundrum: Promise versus Patience. And while the panel fell apart, the reasons for And in return for Cowan’s debut could not be clearer.
So what is the answer for Cowan?
The debate comes down to identity. If the Maple Leafs want to send a message that skill and young people will ride this season, Cowan has to dress. If they are going to send a message that Grit and Grind will define their push, Michael Pezzetta should nod instead.
For me? I lean fiery. Play the child. The opener of Montréal will be loud, mean and messy, but Cowan has the heart for it. He doesn’t have to be sheltered. He must be familiar. Give him 12 minutes, give him a taste of the Power Play and let him run. If he is struggling, you can always send it down later.
But when he comes up until the moment? Then you have the kind of story that transforms a season from the first day.
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