The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a rough two-game stretch in Florida, as their playoff hopes have dwindled to nearly zero. With this most recent slate of results confirming the direction of the Maple Leafs, Craig Berube and the rest of the staff need to begin focusing on their sole prospect, Easton Cowan.
Maple Leafs need to focus on Easton Cowan's development
Craig Berube opted for a veteran lineup to attempt to get the Maple Leafs closer to a playoff spot. With that experiment not working, the Leafs will need to shift their attention to Easton Cowan. Cowan's development must get reps in the NHL, and play alongside the Leafs top players. Berube was asked about Cowan's development, whether this will affect his play, mentioning, "It's decisions that I make as a coach, and I don't believe his development is getting hurt." "I think he's improved this year as the year went along, and I think he still has the swagger that's needed. He's a confident kid."
Cowan hasn't been in the Maple Leafs' lineup since January 29th, against the Seattle Kraken, although it seems that he will re-enter the lineup on Saturday versus the Ottawa Senators. "He obviously needs to play. He’s a young kid, he's a good player." "But at the time, taking him out of the lineup, going back to I think his Seattle game, right? I just felt like he was just a little overwhelmed at that point, and I wanted to give him a break, and we were winning games, so I didn't change the lineup." Berube said Saturday ahead of the Senators' matchup.
Toronto Maple Leafs' future decisions affecting Cowan
At this stage of time, the Maple Leafs may have been playing veterans such as Calle Jarnkrok and Dakota Joshua to try and boost their trade value ahead of the March 6th trade deadline; however, it may have only gone in the wrong direction. There is no question about the Maple Leafs selling at the deadline, which will open more spots in the lineup for Cowan as the Maple Leafs wrap up the final 23 games of the regular season.