Easton Cowan turned one night on the Matthews line into a job
The Leafs' 2023 first-rounder has four points in three games since his promotion, and his penalty-kill minutes say the coach trusts him.
Easton Cowan didn't get the Auston Matthews line as a reward. He got it because Jim Hiller needed somebody for one night, and Cowan has spent the week making the decision difficult to reverse.
The Ferda number: Cowan has four points in three games since Monday's promotion, per NHL data, including goals on consecutive nights. He has 11 points in 12 games this season, five goals and six assists, while averaging 15.1 minutes a night.
Here's how it happened. William Nylander was sick on Monday, and Hiller wanted a full-strength top line against Macklin Celebrini and San Jose. So the 21-year-old moved up beside Matthews and Jack Roslovic. Toronto won that one 3-1, and Matthews had three points.
Cowan was quiet that night. Then he wasn't. He had a goal and two assists in Tuesday's 6-2 victory in Columbus, and the goal was his first career shorthanded goal. He scored again Thursday, with four shots in 16.8 minutes of a 5-4 win over the Rangers.
That shorthanded goal is the detail I'd circle. Cowan has killed penalties in seven of his 12 games, by our count. Coaches don't hand penalty-kill responsibility to a second-year winger for his manners. They do it because they trust his positioning without the puck.
He also leads the Leafs in takeaways, which confirms the same thing from a different angle. Hiller said Cowan has exceeded his expectations, and that Cowan told him before the season he was ready for more. Plenty of young players say that. Fewer of them deliver it in October.
This is the Cowan the scouts liked when Toronto selected him 28th overall in 2023 out of the London Knights. He had 29 points in 66 games as a rookie on a struggling team, then helped the Marlies win the Calder Cup.
That's the development path working exactly the way it's drawn on the whiteboard. A difficult NHL year, a long spring winning in the American Hockey League, then a second season with more responsibility.
The Leafs have won three straight and sit at 6-4-2. Matthews has eight goals and 18 points in 12 games, and he's two points shy of 800 for his career. Somebody gets to ride along for that.
Stock up: Cowan. He doesn't need to keep scoring every night to keep the job. He needs to keep winning pucks back, because that's what earned him penalty-kill time, and the penalty kill is what tells you the coach believes in him.
What's next: Toronto plays in Edmonton on Saturday, and a kid on the Matthews line against Connor McDavid is the toughest test he'll get all month. My call: Cowan stays on that line through the weekend even if Nylander is available.
