As we approach the NHL trade deadline on March 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs should go all in on this current team, adding pieces they think will push them to the Stanley Cup promised land.

With that, comes the potential problem of giving up top prospects like Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, but would giving these guys up really be worth it?

Let’s start with Minten, who was drafted 38^th overall by the Maple Leafs back in 2022 and appears more likely to be traded than Cowan.

Minten has been in trade rumours leading up to this deadline, and most recently has become the talking point of a potential deal for Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton. That happens when you’re a young good prospect on a contending team looking to go all in and mortgage the future.

But giving up Minten would be a huge loss for not only the future, but also for the current. The 20-year-old has already well exceeded expectations for this season, as he’s shown an ability to think the game at a high level, developing a strong offensive side to his game while also becoming a strong two-way player.

Minten has five goals and 10 points in 17 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season. He has appeared in 15 games this season with the Maple Leafs, recording two goals and four points in 12:14 minutes of ice time on average. Plus, at 6-foot-2 and 192-pounds, he’s also found the time to deliver 36 hits.

Yes, there are still a lot of things that Minten needs to improve upon, but more playing time might just be the solution for this youngster and the Maple Leafs, who should look to keep trade assets for the future instead of trading them away.

Good centres just don’t grow on trees in the NHL, and trading for one costs a lot in return. For if the Maple Leafs trade Minten to try and win this season, it will only be a few years before fans look back and ask, “why did we ever do that!”

The more untouchable prospect of the two is Easton Cowan, but even his name has been mentioned in trade talks as of recently. Cowan ranked 45th on The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s top 100 drafted NHL prospects list.

Cowan was put on the map after a strong training camp in the fall following the 2023 NHL Draft, where he emerged as a surprise pick at No. 28 overall, and since then he’s only gotten better.

Consistency is one way to describe Cowan’s play since joining the Maple Leafs organization. In his 85 OHL games since, he’s posted 52 goals and 137 points for the London Knights.

Whether it’s his unofficial 65-game point streak in the OHL that sets the record (unofficial, as it is spread across two seasons) or his outstanding play in the OHL playoffs last year with 10 goals, 34 points in 18 games while leading the Knights to their first championship since 2016, he’s been an unstoppable force.

Cowan’s skating ability is top notch and that, combined with his drive to work and grab pucks, shows he’s developing into an impact player at the NHL level.

Although it might be easier to trade Cowan as fans have yet to see him play a game of importance for the Maple Leafs, it too would be a huge mistake. The wing position, outside of William Nylander and Mitch Marner, has been lacking until the emergence of Matthew Knies. Add Cowan to the group next year and the Maple Leafs might make a bid for the best top-six group in the NHL.

Understandably, a lot of teams are going to demand one of those two prospects (they should, they’re an NHL franchise trying to build for the future), but the Maple Leafs should be trying to get better now without giving up their bright future.