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Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Rielly, Cowan & Making Smarter Moves

Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

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Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Rielly, Cowan & Making Smarter Moves

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By The Old Prof | Last updated Aug 19, 2026 11:05 AM ET

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There are a couple of interesting things happening around the Toronto Maple Leafs right now that don’t necessarily look connected at first glance. One involves Morgan Rielly, a veteran who may not fit quite as neatly into the role he once did. The other involves Easton Cowan, a young player who may eventually become too expensive if the Maple Leafs wait too long to decide what they have.

Put the two together, though, and there is a common theme. The Maple Leafs may have to start thinking a little differently about how they build this team. That doesn’t necessarily mean making some huge change. Sometimes it means looking at the players already in the organization and asking a slightly different question: How can we get the most out of what we have?

Maple Leafs Could Use Morgan Rielly in a Smarter Way

Morgan Rielly’s future with the Maple Leafs may come down to a fairly simple question: What can he still do well? Rielly isn’t the player he was a few years ago. His defensive limitations have become more noticeable, his power-play role could shrink, and the team has younger defencemen looking for more opportunities. But Rielly can still move the puck, see the ice, and move to the net to create offence. So perhaps the question shouldn’t be how to keep using him as a traditional defenceman, but whether Toronto can find a role that better suits the player he is now.

That’s where the Dustin Byfuglien comparison gets interesting. Not because Rielly is anything like Byfuglien, but because both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets found ways to use Byfuglien effectively in different roles. With Rielly, the experiment would go in the opposite direction. Could Toronto occasionally use Rielly as an offensive-minded winger?

That doesn’t mean turning him into a full-time forward. But there could be situations where Rielly starts in the offensive zone, particularly against bottom-six competition, and is asked to use his passing and offensive instincts rather than carry the same defensive responsibilities he has as a defenceman. It could even be something the Maple Leafs experiment with on the power play. If Rielly is no longer the obvious choice to quarterback the first unit, perhaps there are other ways to use his ability to distribute the puck.

This isn’t about pretending Rielly is still the player he was five years ago. He has two more seasons at a $7.5-million cap hit and full no-move protection, so the Maple Leafs aren’t simply going to wish the contract away. Maybe the smarter approach is to find a different version of Morgan Rielly.

Should the Maple Leafs Follow Montreal’s Lead With Easton Cowan?

The other interesting question is what Toronto does with its young players before they become expensive. The Montreal Canadiens have taken an aggressive approach to that problem. General manager Kent Hughes has been willing to sign young players to long-term contracts before they reach their full earning power. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and Ivan Demidov are all examples of Montreal trying to get ahead of the salary curve.

There is certainly some risk involved. Young players don’t always develop as expected. But the payoff can be pretty significant if they do. A contract that looks expensive when it is signed can look like a bargain a few years later. That brings Easton Cowan into the conversation.

Easton Cowan, Toronto Marlies (Barry McCluskey / TheAHL, CC BY 4.0)

The Maple Leafs don’t need to rush into a long-term contract with Cowan, and they certainly shouldn’t pay him as though he’s already an established star. But if Toronto believes Cowan will become an important part of its next core, there could be value in getting ahead of his development.

Another strong NHL season could considerably strengthen Cowan’s negotiating position. Once he establishes himself as a legitimate top-six forward, Toronto will be paying for what he has already become rather than taking a calculated bet on what he might become. And that is where Montreal’s approach is worth watching.

Toronto has spent years paying its established stars after they proved exactly how valuable they were. That’s completely understandable. Players earn their money. But it also makes the rest of the roster harder to build. With Cowan, the Leafs have an opportunity to do something a little different. They could pay for some of the potential before it all becomes reality.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs

Interestingly, both situations come back to the same idea. With Rielly, Toronto could ask whether there is another way to use a player who no longer fits perfectly into his old role. With Cowan, the question is whether the organization can recognize what a young player might become before the rest of the league does.

Neither idea is guaranteed to work. That’s the nature of roster building. But perhaps this is part of what a new Maple Leafs management group should be doing. Instead of simply asking who fits the traditional role or what a player is worth right now, the Maple Leafs could ask what that player might be able to do differently, and what he might be worth tomorrow.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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