David Alter is back giving his take on a faltering franchise in Toronto. It can’t go on like this, can it?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are losing games, and there’s no doubt that if they keep doing so, it will serve them well regarding their position in the NHL Draft. After all, their pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is lottery-protected in the top five; otherwise, it belongs to the Boston Bruins as part of the trade that brought Brandon Carlo to Toronto. While securing a high draft pick is a silver lining for a franchise in flux, the current environment at Scotiabank Arena is becoming increasingly toxic. The “Leafs” are simply not playing well, and a major concern is the negative effect this environment could have on rookie forward Easton Cowan.
Expectations were sky-high for Toronto’s 2023 late first-round draft pick. After winning everything possible with the London Knights, many fans and analysts hoped Cowan could provide the offensive spark that vanished when Mitch Marner, one of best Toronto Maple Leafs Players of all time, opted to leave the Maple Leafs for the Vegas Golden Knights. Instead, it’s been a turbulent year for the player they call “Cowboy,” and it is almost certainly not his fault. The 20-year-old struggled to find a regular role early on under head coach Craig Berube, and the management of his minutes has been a point of constant contention.
Instead of sending him down to the Toronto Marlies to maintain his rhythm, there were stretches in January where Cowan was a healthy scratch and sat out games entirely. To make matters worse, because Cowan had reached a specific threshold of days on the NHL roster, he was ineligible to be sent down to the Marlies during the three-week Olympic break. For a player used to winning—having secured the Memorial Cup with London last season—Cowan is now merely playing out the string for a team in a major crawl to the bottom of the standings.
The Mood is Somber
Each game is looking worse than the last. Although he scored his ninth goal of the season in a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on March 21, the post-game mood was somber. Cowan described the Leafs’ recent string of games as “deflating,” particularly when they allowed the first goal. It was a candid admission from a young player clearly feeling the weight of a losing season.
I took Cowan’s assessment to Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, and he was having none of it. “I don’t know why they would be deflated after we gave up a power-play goal,” Berube said. “We broke a stick. We’re trying to get a stick. I mean, they scored a goal, but big deal. We played a good first period. I don’t understand the thought process of not following it up and being ready for the second, knowing they’re going to make a push. We didn’t respond well enough. So I don’t really understand this ‘deflated’ stuff, to be honest. I think it’s a cop-out”.
Berube might be right from a coaching standpoint, but at this point, it hardly matters. When one of your key future pieces is struggling and his confidence is wavering, calling his perspective a “cop-out” isn’t the best way to handle the situation. There has been significant debate regarding how Cowan has been managed, and his biggest frustration appears to be his inability to help the team pull out of this nosedive.
Uncertainty Brings Tension
The uncertainty surrounding the organization only adds to the tension. It remains unclear if Berube or GM Brad Treliving will even be around beyond this year following such a disappointing campaign. If the leadership is in question, the development of the youth becomes even more precarious. At the very least, Cowan is eligible to join the Marlies for a playoff run, where he might finally rediscover that winning feeling.
In the meantime, the Leafs must find a way to get their top prospect feeling good again so he can become a meaningful producer in his sophomore season. If they let this atmosphere of defeat drag on, the damage to their prized rookie could be long-term.