The Maple Leafs and Flames skated at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday.
When the Leafs played in Calgary last season, right before the Olympic break, Easton Cowan was a healthy scratch. That meant taking a trek across the infamous Saddledome catwalk high above the ice to get to the press box.
“Not good,” he recalled with a laugh. “Yeah, not too good.”
The 21-year-old winger doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Cowan will be on Toronto’s top line beside Auston Matthews on Monday in Calgary as he looks to continue his sophomore season surge.
“It’s tough to say he hasn’t exceeded expectations,” said general manager John Chayka during an off-camera meeting with the media. “Any time you get young players progressing like that, it gives you a shot in the arm. We saw a lot of these flashes at the American League level. To do what he did at that age was pretty special. But then to go elevate at this level, it’s been nice found money for sure.”
So, does that mean Cowan, whose resume includes two Ontario Hockey League titles, a Memorial Cup championship and a Calder Cup win, is untradeable?
“I don’t think any player is untradeable, but he’s a good player,” Chayka said. “He’s everything you’d want [in] a Toronto Maple Leaf. He loves the Leafs. He’s passionate about it. Plays a 200-foot game. Does whatever it takes, you know, in the gym, doing extra on the ice. It’d be tough to ever improve on a player like that.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Cowan, who grew up bleeding blue in Mount Brydges, Ont. “I love being a Leaf. Love playing for Toronto. Love the fan base. Love this team. So just another opportunity here tonight to play the game I love.”
The Leafs are 4-0-0 since Cowan was elevated to the top line last week. He has racked up five points in that stretch while helping the team keep Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet in 5-on-5 play.
“For him to be going against first lines every single night and for him to still be putting up points and not really getting caught out there defensively, it’s very impressive,” said rookie winger Gavin McKenna. “I think everyone talks about that huge jump he made from last year. It’s been unbelievable to watch. I know he’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. How could you not be when you’re playing like that?”
Cowan produced 29 points in 66 games last season. He’s on pace for 77 in 84 games this year. The offence is one thing, but it usually takes time for a young player to earn trust from a coach defensively. However, Cowan already appears to have won over Jim Hiller.
“He’s a much better player without the puck than I thought he was,” the Leafs coach said. “And that really does take some time as a young player. Usually that develops over time. I’m just really impressed when I go through the video and I watch him I see his reads, he really understands the game on both sides of it already.”
During his first game against McDavid last season, Cowan logged just 13 seconds against the Oilers star. On Saturday, he was tied with Matthews for the most 5-on-5 ice time (11:22) against McDavid. Toronto outscored Edmonton 2-0 during those minutes.
“I like playing against other teams’ top lines,” Cowan said. “It’s fun. It brings intensity and if you have good defence, it can lead to offence. Just trying to be simple, get over guys, and good defence leads to offence. That’s kind of what I’ve been living by, so just try to keep that going.”
Cowan taking a big step forward in his development is an important development for a Leafs team looking to take a big step forward this season.
Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh isn’t surprised to see his old Ontario Hockey League rival already on Toronto’s top line.
“No, not really,” Parekh told TSN. “I think he’s what they need there. He’s a gamer. He’s playing really well for them. When he was in the OHL he worked his tail off and played the same way, so not surprised to see it working for him here.”
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So, if the Leafs want to upgrade on defence it doesn’t sound like Cowan will be involved in any trade.
How urgently is Chayka looking for help on the blue line?
“There’s no doubt we need to improve our defensive play overall to reach our ultimate goals,” the first-year Leafs GM said. “But I don’t think a transaction is necessarily always the way to improve. We’ve seen a lot of internal improvement already, and I think defensive play is a five-man structure unit. Our decision-making, puck management, forwards tracking back, coaches implementing their systems and creating more comfort with that — I think we’re seeing a lot of progress organically with all of that. My job is always to look to improve the team if possible, and we’ll continue to evaluate the market and see if there’s an opportunity.”
The Leafs are 14th in goals against per game (3.08) despite currently missing three defencemen due to injury. Toronto finished 31st in goals against (3.6) last season.
Chayka also downplayed the idea that the Leafs may find it complicated to add pieces because of their tight salary-cap situation.
“Anytime you’re in pro sports now, it always becomes a bit of a math and finance problem,” he acknowledged. “But I think we’ve got good flexibility. Every discussion we’ve had, I don’t think that’s going to be a gating item for us. And I think we’ll be positioned well in that way.”
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Chris Tanev joined the Leafs on the ice for Monday’s morning skate although the 36-year-old defenceman was wearing a red no-contact sweater.
“This is a morning skate, but he’ll get back in practice here shortly, hopefully, and then he’ll progress to return to play,” Chayka said. “All the diagnosis and everything we heard was really positive and optimistic, and progressing nicely.”
Tanev, who was limited to 11 games due to a series of injuries last season, sustained an undisclosed upper-body injury on Oct. 10.
It did not look like much contact caused this latest injury. Is Chayka worried about Tanev aggravating the issue once he returns?
“That’d be like a crystal ball kind of thing,” he said. “Our doctors are confident in the diagnosis and the treatment plan, and he’s responding well. No different than any other player that returns to play, you’re always worried about re-injury, but we’ll get to a point where we feel really good about it. We’ll test it as much as we can in practice, and then it’s about going out and playing.”
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Chayka has no issue with how Hiller is handling the development of McKenna. The first overall pick in the 2026 draft is averaging 13:33 of ice time per game, which is ninth among Toronto’s forwards.
“Gavin’s been great,” Chayka stressed. “Like, things you see from him, it’s not hard to forecast out and see that he could be a top player in this league one day. The idea that 18-year-olds come in, even if they’re first-overall picks, and they’re ready to dictate outcomes and be superstars — if you actually look at it, that’s pretty rare and almost never happens. And so, for Gavin to come in and make the impact he has, it’s been great. I know Jim and the coaching staff love working with him. He’s gotten better pretty much every game. You know, there’s been ups and downs, like any player, but a lot of good trends.”
McKenna is slotting on the third line beside Colton Sissons and Vinni Lettieri. He picked up an assist on Saturday and is up to eight points in 13 games. With John Tavares sidelined, McKenna is also filling in on the top power-play unit.
McKenna often sees his ice time cut when the Leafs are defending a lead. That was the case on Oct. 15 when he was benched and only played 6:36 against the Buffalo Sabres. “When it comes to protecting a lead, as a coaching staff, they’re trying to win hockey games,” Chayka said. “There are players on our roster that they get paid to play better defensively. And for your coaching staff to lean on those players a little more heavily probably makes logical sense. But as we work through a development process with Gavin — and that’s what it is — I have no doubt his time will come, and he’ll continue to build up trust and confidence with the coaches. That’s all really healthy, actually. It’s actually the right thing for his development.”
As for the benching? “Candidly, I thought Jim handled it well and continues to build a relationship with Gavin, and I think it’s going to be a really good relationship over a long period of time,” Chayka said.
On a rebuilding team, McKenna may be getting more minutes. But the Leafs are looking to immediately jump back into the playoffs after seeing a nine-year streak get snapped in spectacular fashion.
“On a team like ours, where we’re trying to just stabilize and start climbing again, maybe he’s not getting as much as he might in a different situation,” said Hiller. “But I think it’s good for him, frankly, to be around these players that we have already on the team and learn from them and just come along. We’ve seen so much growth in his game already, and it’s not surprising because he has such a great hockey sense and awareness.”
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McKenna felt the love on Saturday in Edmonton.
“That was a cool atmosphere for sure,” the Whitehorse native said. “A lot of Leafs fans, so that was fun to play in. And then, yeah, I saw a couple Yukon flags, saw a Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin flag, so that was pretty cool.”
McKenna played three seasons for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League so he’s no stranger to playing in Edmonton and Calgary’s NHL buildings. The road trip will continue in Seattle on Wednesday before wrapping up Saturday in Vancouver where McKenna is anticipating a big group of supporters, including his parents.
“I played a lot of games at Rogers [Place], played a lot of games here, and then going to Vancouver, that’s probably my closest spot to home,” McKenna said. “So it’s fun. Obviously, I haven’t played in Seattle. But, yeah, these three places, it feels a little bit like home. I know there’s a lot of Yukoners traveling around, and I’m just excited to feel that support.”
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McKenna’s landlord is on the mend. Tavares has resumed skating back home in Toronto.
“He’s a pretty unique athlete, you know, very attuned to his body and what he needs to do,” Chayka said. “He’s not yet at a point where he’s skating with the team, so that’d be kind of [the] next step.”
Tavares remains listed as “week-to-week” which means he is expected to miss between one and six weeks. The veteran centre sustained an undisclosed lower-body injury on Oct. 15.
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Dakota Joshua, who has been plagued by a nagging core injury since before the season began, has completed an AHL conditioning stint.
“Looked well for the Marlies, and so he’ll be recalled here in the next day or two,” Chayka said.
The winger did not hit the scoresheet in four games with the Marlies.
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Sergei Bobrovsky gets the start for the Leafs in Calgary and will be looking to bounce back after allowing four goals on 25 shots in his last appearance on Thursday against the New York Rangers. Bobrovsky is 3-3-2 with an .895 save percentage.
“He’s historically a slow starter,” Chayka pointed out. “I think this is his best start — if you look at some [data] adjustments in the last four to five years. You need to win and you need to have a good start to the season, but we brought him in to be there when the pressure ramps up and we need a rock back there. So, he’s moving well. He’s doing a lot of great things. It’s been great to have him in the locker room, around the guys, and his presence and his detail and his preparation and his approach to wins, approach to losses, it doesn’t really change. So, there’s a lot of really good things there.”
Bobrovsky owns a .904 save percentage in October during his career, which is the lowest of any month.
Devin Cooley, who has won three straight decisions with a .963 save percentage in that stretch, starts for the Flames.
Captain Mikael Backlund, who missed the last two games, skated as the top-line centre at Flames skate and is listed as a game-time decision.
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Lines at Leafs skate on Monday:
Cowan - Matthews - Roslovic
Marchenko - Paul - Nylander
McKenna - Sissons - Lettieri
Duhaime - Blueger - MacEwen
Groulx
McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Stecher
Mermis - OEL
McWard - Tanev
Bobrovsky
Stolarz