Maple Leafs' lineup changes signal there’s no other spot for Cowan

The Toronto Maple Leafs have already been bitten quite hard by the injury bug this season. First, the club lost Scott Laughton during the preseason. Then, Steven Lorentz went down on Saturday night with an upper-body injury.

Those two injuries come on top of Joseph Woll’s undisclosed personal matter, leading to a leave of absence.

As such, the injury woes have triggered a cascading effect on the Maple Leafs’ forward group. Coach Craig Berube has had to shift his pieces around to accommodate replacements.

One such replacement is star rookie Easton Cowan. Cowan made the team out of camp, but has yet to suit up this season. But it seems like fans won’t have to wait any longer. Cowan is poised to hit the ice on Monday night.

But instead of getting into the fourth line, Cowan will head straight to the head of the pack. Based on the Leafs’ practice lines on Sunday, Cowan will skate on the top unit with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.

As such, this lineup change indicates a crude reality: There’s no other spot for Easton Cowan in the Maple Leafs’ lineup.

Cowan had been skating with Laughton and Lorentz in the preseason. But as fate would have it, both went down with injury. So, there’s no other spot for Cowan other than the top line. It’s almost as if Cowan’s destiny was earmarked for the top unit.

Maple Leafs’ fans should have tempered expectations for Cowan

The arrival of Easton Cowan is an exciting one. The Leafs haven’t produced many top rookies during the Auston Matthews era. Ever since the club became a playoff contender, draft picks and prospects have been the price paid for success.

Aside from Matthew Knies, the Maple Leafs haven’t had a rookie cause such a stir. While Cowan comes with a first-round pedigree, expectations should be tempered at this point. Fans shouldn’t expect Cowan to score 30 goals or surpass 70 points this season.

If anything, Cowan could very well hit the ground running. But it may take for him to develop into the sort of NHLer fans would like to see.

Sure, it would be nice to see Cowan score four goals like Matthews did in his debut. But that was a singular moment in NHL history. Realistically, Cowan could hang with Matthews and Knies, generating scoring opportunities and keeping pace over the ice.

There will be some growing pains and potentially mistakes along the way. But that’s part of the process. The Leafs don’t really have much choice but to give Cowan a shot on the top line. If Cowan proves it’s too much for him at this point in his career, the Leafs may have to decide whether to send him back down or keep him on the club in another role.