Could Easton Cowan Replace Leafs' Mitch Marner?

Even after taking the defending Stanely Cup Champion Florida Panthers to seven games in round two of the playoffs while also watching that same team outscore the Carolina Hurricanes 21-10 in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to their third consecutive Stanely Cup Final, this seems to be the year the Leafs won't be running the Core Four back.

All season long, the same storyline permeated Toronto: would star Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner sign an extension with his hometown team? Over his nine-year NHL career, Marner has always faced criticism for the way he has handled the notoriously critical Toronto Media.

Through all of that, he has responded with the same typical hockey player answer when asked about his future with the Leafs, which is that he's "just focused on hockey right now." That answer is reminiscent of his current teammate and fellow UFA John Tavares' answers to Islander reporters who questioned Tavares about his future in Long Island. He has responded with vague and unclear answers regarding his future with his former team, the New York Islanders.

Their similarities in contract disputes with their first NHL teams don't just end there. Back in 2018, when Tavares was last a free agent, the Isles offered him an eight-year deal with an AAV of $11.25-million dollars. Tavares opted for less term and cash to go to a contender, and with Marner responding, "I've always loved my time here" and, "I've been so grateful" during the Leafs' end of season media availability while also reportedly turning down his desired $13-million AAV from Leafs general manager Brad Treliving during the regular season, his tenure as a Leaf looks to be one of the past.

If Treliving and the Leafs can't get a deal done with Marner and his camp by July 1st, they will have to fill a void in a Maple Leafs lineup that's never been a concern until now. With a weak free-agent class this summer, is Marner's replacement an in-house one?

Time for Cowan to Step Up

If that's the route the Leafs will opt to take, it may start with their 2023 first-round pick, Easton Cowan. Cowan currently plays with the London Knights of the OHL, a team that just won back-to-back OHL Championships. According to CHL.ca, Cowan was the leading scorer of both this year's and last year's OHL playoffs, with 34 and 39 points, respectively. 

Cowan's success in the 2023–24 playoffs is impressive, as he was the MVP of the OHL playoffs and led all players in Memorial Cup scoring. During the regular season of that same year, he took home the Red Tilson Trophy awarded to the OHL's Most Outstanding Player, highlighted by his 36-game point streak, the longest streak of any OHL player since 1995.

Those accolades, especially the playoff ones, shouldn't be taken lightly by a Leafs team that has seen their star players struggle to produce in the playoffs year after year.

Other than his experience in the NHL, Cowan's only knock on potentially becoming a mainstay with the Leafs next season is his lack of success while representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. 

Although Cowan has found immense success in the OHL, it hasn't translated to the national stage. From Cowans's two stints with Canada's U20 junior team, he amassed just five points in 10 games, per eliteprospects.com. 

When you look at Cowan's numbers on the world stage, you can't help but wonder how much the Leafs have used that as a benchmark for Cowan's success. For a junior player such as Cowan, there probably isn't a bigger stage than the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Though he won't get another crack at the U20 level next winter for Canada, Cowan will be able to prove that his junior success can translate to NHL pre-season play next September. You can bet the Leafs are going to hope he takes that leap to replace their former London Knight, if he goes elsewhere on July 1st.