Expect Easton Cowan to play 82 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2024-25

When the Toronto Maple Leafs play their 11th game of the season, on Halloween, against the Seattle Kraken, there is a 100% chance that Easton Cowan is in the lineup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect is never going to play an AHL game, and he certainly won't be playing any more games in Junior.

How do I know? Simple. The Leafs are - at the very least - a semi-competent organization with intelligent people calling the shots.

That guarantees that Easton Cowan is in the NHL this year, where he should be. And, barring injury, he'll play in every single game and challenge for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year.

Expect Easton Cowan to play 82 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2024-25

The Toronto Maple Leafs need depth scoring; they have lost in the playoffs multiple times because of this. Easton Cowan offers them the easiest and cheapest access to depth scoring. Their salary cap situation means they need quality players on cheap contracts. Cowan will play on a league-minimum rookie deal and provide some of the best value in the NHL this side of Connor Bedard.

The Leafs are desperate to develop a star outside of the top 10 of the NHL draft. Easton Cowan is their best shot.

Furthermore, pairing Cowan with Minten, Knies, Woll and Niemela gives the Leafs a much needed group of youthful newcomers who can augment the Core and provide the kind of value you just can't get when you sign veterans to expensive contracts.

But the main reason the Leafs will have Easton Cowan in their lineup when camp breaks and why they will still have him when the first year of his NHL contract kicks in during that Halloween game vs the Kraken, is because he gives them the best chance to win.

Cowan makes their lineup deeper, and he makes it better. He provides a ton of salary cap value and most of all, he will prevent the team from spending assets on other players that they won't need if Cowan plays. He also has the chance to be a star from the get-go and put up a ton of points.

There is absolutely nothing for Cowan to accomplish in Junior. He was the league's MVP, the playoff MVP, won the Championship, set multiple league records and would have won the scoring title if he played enough games.

The Leafs are not sending him back to junior. He will be in the NHL. All season long. That is a 100% guarantee. He would have to play for the dumbest, most incompetent team of all-time to end up back in the OHL - that's how ready he is for the NHL and how desperate the Leafs are for him to play for them.