Following the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, much of the conversation centered on decisions made by new head coach Jim Hiller.
One that stood out was the ice time for forward Easton Cowan, who broke out in a major way over the first two games of the season. Some expected the 21-year-old to see a slightly bigger role and more minutes. Instead, Cowan played 19 shifts, similar to his workload in the first two games, but finished with barely over 12 minutes of ice time.
Cowan has been leading the second power play unit, and the schedule could give him a chance to keep pushing for more ice-time as the Maple Leafs face a Nashville Predators team on Tuesday that finished bottom-seven in defense last season.
Then come tougher tests against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday and the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, who finished last season as the NHL's best defensive team. If Cowan can keep up his early-season play through that stretch, he could earn a shot at top-six minutes once again.
Maple Leafs should make this lineup change
It is early, and there is a case for Hiller wanting to see whether his current lineup can work together before making adjustments. If he does eventually make a change, though, there is an argument for moving Cowan up, with last season's numbers supporting it.
That does not mean pushing down Gavin McKenna after his slow start to his NHL career but that there is a more intriguing option that would involve Jack Roslovic coming down from the top line.
The 29-year-old, a near-40-point player, was brought in largely because of his experience playing with Auston Matthews in the U.S. National Team Development Program and the friendship between the two. Roslovic deserves some runway to see if that chemistry is still there, but Cowan could be a worthwhile replacement.
With newcomer Kirill Marchenko effectively working as an upgrade on Matthew Knies, Cowan's numbers last season alongside Matthews and Knies make a solid case for a similar unit. The trio played just under 54 minutes together across 17 games last season and made the most of their limited time, scoring two goals and allowing none.
After recording nearly 30 points in 66 games last season, Cowan could take another step if given the chance to play with two elite offensive talents in Marchenko and Matthews. He could build on his fast start and possibly become the player Toronto fans have always believed he could be, provided the line works well together. It is worth at least testing if the Roslovic experiment continues to struggle.
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