Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten making the Toronto Maple Leafs is optimal
The Toronto Maple Leafs should hope youth prevails during their upcoming training camp. The path of top prospects Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten will be one of the most intriguing stories of the preseason.
Their play was one of the pleasant surprises during last year's training camp. Each, especially Cowan, used the prolonged look with the Leafs as a springboard to strong seasons with their junior teams.
Despite the promise of the youngsters, the Maple Leafs have been rumored to be searching for veteran help. Max Pacioretty has been linked to Toronto....for some reason.
Based on their history, Brad Treliving and the rest of the team's management should ignore the veteran route. They should be hoping their prospects show they can handle regular NHL duty.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have tried and failed with veterans
The Leafs have signed a long list of veteran players to try and complement the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly. Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Jason Spezza, and Mark Giordano were aging veterans brought in to provide leadership and guide Toronto's stars.
The behind-the-scenes leadership component is hard to measure, but each helped show the Maple Leafs core how to deal with the ups and downs of professional hockey. The on-ice results, however, were negligible or non-existent.
Spezza, Marleau, and Giordano had spurts of adequate play but didn't help push the team to greater success. Thornton and Simmonds did little during their time in Toronto.
The Leafs had some success with veteran trade deadline acquisitions Ryan O-Reilly and Luke Schenn, but each chose to move on elsewhere.
The Maple Leafs have not had success using over-the-hill players to fill roles within their third-pairing defensemen or bottom-six forwards. It's time for a new approach rather than using aging cast-offs from other teams.
Cowan and Minten landing jobs are the best result for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Cowan and Minten earning their way onto the roster is the best-case scenario for the Maple Leafs. Currently, there is little upside within the team's bottom six forwards. Less so, if restricted free agent Nick Robertson sticks to his desire to play elsewhere.
The upside of Cowan and Minten outweighs the contributions from players like Pontus Holmberg, Ryan Reaves, David Kampf, and Connor Dewar. It may take time for the youngsters to find their way, but their potential is worth it.
The mostly defensive, safe play of Kampf, Holmberg, Dewar, and Reaves will not see the Leafs be anything but a periphery Stanley Cup contender. Top teams need to have threats that come from further down the lineup.
It is still to be determined what kind of NHL players Cowan and Minten will turn into. Their upside, however, shouldn't be ignored. Their youthful enthusiasm would also provide an additional spark to the lineup along with young veterans Matthew Knies and Joseph Woll.
manual
It is time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to eschew veterans to fill out the bottom of the roster. Youth should be served. It's the clearest path to join the top Stanley Cup contenders.