The Toronto Maple Leafs Need Both of Their Top Prospects on the NHL Roster Now

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been horrible at developing players during the Auston Matthews Era.

Perhaps owing to the Toronto Maple Leafs near-legendary aversion to risk taking, the team has been horrendous at elevating rookies to the NHL and incorporating them into their game-plan.

Nick Robertson, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin are just a few players whose opportunities were limited by short-sighted management decisions and a coach's reluctance to try young players in imprortant roles.

Considering that the Leafs pay half their salary cap to five players, you would think the team would put more faith in their rookies in order to take advantage of the entry-level contracts that would make paying the stars more palatable.

Which brings me to Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, both of whom should be in the NHL next season unless they have absolutely brutal training camp performances.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Need Both of Their Top Prospects on the NHL Roster Now

Fraser Minten was given four games last year and played well. Teaming up with Calle Jarnkrok and Matthew Knies, Minten played to a 52% Expected Goals Rating, which is very good.

It's not a very big sample, but the fact is that he played in the NHL as a 19 year-old and was perfectly fine. As a 20 year old, he'll be even better. But most of all, he will be dirt-cheap and allow the Leafs to re-invest the money they are paying to expensive bottom-six options in better players.

As for Easton Cowan, he just had the kind of season that is usually reserved for top-ten picks in their post-draft seasons. Those players almost always go straight to the NHL.

Cowan should 100% be on the Leafs next season, and it's ridiculous if there's even a debate about it. The Leafs need players who don't cost a lot and who have upside. He's one of the few members of the organization that fits that definition.

On top of which, he's done all he can do in junior hockey and he isn't eligible to play in the AHL because he's too young. Therefore he needs to be in the NHL.

There really isn't much risk in promoting these players. If they fail, they can be sent back to junior or the AHL, but they likely won't fail because of the types of guys they are. Both Cowan and Minten are extremely smart and mature people for their age and do not seem like the kind of fragile players who can be hurt by being rushed to the big leagues and failing. They are both sure to become NHL players, and they might as well be playing now.

Competitive teams cannot afford to baby their prospects because players on entry-level deals are just far too valuable to not have on an NHL roster.

A Leafs roster that is forced to trade Nick Robertson and doesn't promote Cowan and Minten is a lot weaker than the one that brings Robertson back and promotes the two rookies.

Suddenly, the Leafs are an exciting young team - Robertson, Cowan, Knies, Minten, Liljegren and Woll would make up a third of the team. Superstar vets Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Rielly, Tavares and Tanev make up another third.

That's a scary roster that has a ton of potential and upside. That's a roster that can finish first overall if things go well.

But it's a lot lamer if the young players and their upsides are swapped out for safe veteran plays that might not risk much, but which have no shot at reaching the kinds of heights that having Auston Matthews on the roster demands.