NHL
Former Coach Critical of Maple Leafs Plans for Easton Cowan
Former NHL Coach Bruce Boudreau gives his two cents on how the Toronto Maple Leafs have handled Easton Cowan this season.
Bruce Boudreau, a longtime NHL bench boss, was on Leafs Morning Take to talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. One of the topics he brought up during the podcast was to criticize the Maple Leafs and how they have handled Easton Cowan.
Cowan, who played yesterday against the Philadelphia Flyers, spent much of his time watching the game after only getting 8:23 of ice time. He also spent a month in the press box before this time, which caused Boudreau and others to criticize the use of Cowan.
“My philosophy was always, if you can’t play a young kid for 12 minutes a game. He’s gotta go somewhere else because he’s not developing there,” said Boudreau.
He goes on to say that this level of ice time causes a player to go out and worry about making a mistake on every shift. The player, a Memorial Cup champion and the top player in the OHL, is not playing with the same confidence, said the coach.
Cowan, who has put up 17 points in 45 games this year, might look for an increased role following this year’s Trade Deadline. There are many out there, including Boudreau, who said if he is not going to get the ice time with the big club, it might be time to send him down to the AHL.
“You don’t develop sitting in the stands or sitting on the bench in the NHL.”
There are plenty of prospects who spend some time developing in the AHL, even for a short stint. Including William Nylander who spent two seasons with the AHL affiliate before becoming the superstar we see today.
It just came down to two options for Boudreau regarding Cowan. The Maple Leafs either have to let him develop in the minors or play him more minutes in the NHL.
With the deadline fast approaching and many players likely leaving the team, it is likely that one of those two options will happen.
NEXT: Former NHLer Slams William Nylander Over Character Concerns
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gfinale
March 4, 2026 at 2:35 am
No, Cowan didn’t spend a month in the press box. There was no press box for 2.5 weeks, the Olympic break. NO NHL players were playing for that 2.5 weeks. In reality, he sat out a few games before and after the Olympic break to the tune of about 1.5 weeks of accelerated games that were making up for the lost time. Should he have played a bunch of games in the AHL? He couldn’t because he played too many NHL games, part of the Olympic rules. He shouldn’t have anyway because meanwhile, all the other NHL players except those at the Olympics would have had a well rested break while he would have been even more exhausted, after already appearing to need some rest when he was sat. How do you know if he can play 12 mins until you play him and find out no, 8:23 is enough?! This time of the season is tougher, quicker, more demanding and lots of players, especially newbies wither. He’s a small player coming from a boys league directly to playing his first year in the best men’s league in the world.