Has Easton Cowan Earned a Maple Leafs' Top-Six Spot?

Back when this line first started clicking for the Toronto Maple Leafs, I wrote about Easton Cowan, John Tavares, and William Nylander looking like a genuine bridge line. One set of young legs, a veteran brain, and some pure skill. Ten months and a full season later, it's worth checking in on how that actually played out, because Cowan's rookie year turned out to be a real rollercoaster.

Cowan’s Rookie Season Was Modest By Some Standards.

The regular season numbers landed pretty modestly: 11 goals, 18 assists, 29 points in 66 games. Solid for a rookie, nothing flashy. And along the way, Cowan was demoted to the AHL Toronto Marlies for a couple of weeks. Then head coach Craig Berube even said he'd lost his "swagger" before benching him for a few games late in the year. That's the part that got buried in all the top-six optimism from earlier in the season: even a genuinely talented rookie hits real rookie speed bumps, and Cowan had his.

But here's where the story gets a lot more interesting. Once he got that brief AHL reset, he came back and torched the Calder Cup playoffs with the Marlies — eight goals and ten assists in 22 games, helping Toronto's farm team actually win the whole thing. That's not a small footnote. That's a young player getting knocked down and responding by completely taking over at the level below, which is about as good a sign as you can ask for heading into a contract year.

So What About Cowan for the 2026-27 Season?

So where does that leave him for 2026-27? He's expected to be a full-time NHL fixture from day one, no more shuttling back and forth. The real question now isn't whether he makes the team; it's whether he's actually a top-six piece or more of a versatile middle-six guy who can slide up when needed. Realistically, it's probably the latter to start, given Toronto's crowded winger group with names like Gavin McKenna and Jack Roslovic added to the mix this offseason.

Here's the honest read on Cowan heading into this year. He hasn't fully "arrived" as a top-six mainstay yet, but he's checked every box you'd want from a young player proving himself the hard way. He got pushed down, he responded, and he's earned real trust rather than a handout.

That Cowan-Tavares-Nylander pairing might not be a season-long fixture, but don't be surprised if it resurfaces in stretches — because Cowan's shown he's not just keeping up with the NHL anymore. He's starting to push into it.