Easton Cowan was billed as the bridge between the future, and the team’s win-now timeline entering the 2025-26 season. Coming off a season where he captured Memorial Cup MVP with the London Knights, he immediately graduated to the NHL and there was a natural inclination to temper expectations for the 21-year-old. Although the Toronto Maple Leafs underwent a 30-point decline, leading to a complete overhaul at every level of the organization, Cowan was the positive on-ice surprise for the club, with tenacity, secondary scoring punch, and details that should lead to more wins next season.

After a strong rookie year, Cowan dominated the Calder Cup Playoffs, where he was often the best skater on the ice, as the Toronto Marlies won their second championship in franchise history. Cowan posted eight goals and 18 points in 22 postseason games with the Marlies. He’s a winner at all levels, and it’ll be exciting to see where he pencils in amid a revamped Maple Leafs team with playoff expectations.

Cowan appeared to be lock for the opening night roster, but was inexplicably left off, after Scott Laughton suffered an injury during the end of the preseason. This mistake was rectified quickly, as Cowan made his season debut on October 13 against the Detroit Red Wings. The dynamic winger’s ability to play through the lineup was certainly an asset for the Maple Leafs. Whether head coach Craig Berube (who was fired in the offseason and replaced by Jim Hiller) knew it or not, was an entirely different matter. Cowan operated on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies through October, and his tenacity, ability to win puck battles, and willingness to extend plays with subtle puck touches, produced some of Matthews’ best results of the year.

“I think just the way he thinks the game,” Matthews said of Cowan on October 16. “I think he’s got really good, five-foot, ten-foot play. He moves the puck and then he moves himself. And I think just he’s a really cerebral player. He’s obviously not the biggest guy, but just think the way he’s able to think the game, you know, has made him the elite kind of player that he’s playing, growing up and transitioning.”

Berube didn’t have much patience for Cowan in a top-six role, preferring Max Domi instead, while rotating Matias Maccelli in after benching the veteran winger for nearly a month. Cowan fought through his coach’s predilection for veterans, and continued to form great chemistry, this time with Nicolas Roy and Nick Robertson on a revamped third line. As the pressure mounted, with losses piling up through the Christmas break, an exasperated Brad Treliving fired assistant Marc Savard, while providing Berube with another vote of confidence. This didn’t bode well for Cowan, and Berube gave him little margin of error.

Although Cowan was one of the Leafs’ most productive forwards, he was punished for a costly mistake. During a January 21 game against the Detroit Red Wings, Cowan was picked off by Detroit’s star defenceman Moritz Seider, which led to Dylan Larkin’s game-winning goal. Berube was furious and benched Cowan throughout January as a result, despite being one of the team’s most impactful players, relative to their role.

Cowan really earned his spot on the team as a character player. He was one of the few Maple Leafs who showed any team spirit at all, fighting Nikita Zadorov after a dangerous hit on John Tavares. After Auston Matthews’ suffered a season-ending hit from Radko Gudas, Cowan dropped the gloves and won a fight against the much-larger Jackson LaCombe. For a team that often lacked outward competitive spirit, Cowan’s energy was a much-needed element.

Berube completely lost the plot, and it was only when the Maple Leafs’ season was completely out of reach that the veteran head coach placed his winger back into a top-six role, where he’s best suited at the NHL level. Cowan ought to thrive under Jim Hiller, a coach lauded for his defensive techniques and communication style with star players and role players alike.

The advanced stats aren’t flattering on first glance, but it perhaps speaks to Cowan being placed all throughout the lineup. Cowan would wedge his way into good areas onto the ice, and his best quality in the NHL, was his ability to win puck battles. Due to his speed and offensive opportunism, Cowan would extend loose pucks into the offensive zone. Cowan’s statistical profile takes a beating, largely due to the minutes spent where he was deployed on defensive-zone faceoffs, or fourth-line spot duty.

We’re not saying burn the charts on a selective basis, but the eye test provides a better representative sample of what to expect from Cowan. Under a new head coach, with a structure that delineates roles clearly, Cowan could be in for a breakout season, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.