Craig Berube Surprises Fans by Giving Easton Cowan a Major Promotion

Looking for redemption on Monday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs were back on the ice for practice on Sunday with a lot of focus on finding their groove once again after they looked terrible against the Red Wings.

Craig Berube was back to business in making sure his team was best prepared for what lies ahead and it came with one very interesting addition.

Knies - Matthews - Cowan
Maccelli - Tavares - Nylander
Roberson - Domi - McMann
Joshua - Roy - Jarnkrok
Blais

McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Myers

Primeau
Stolarz

It seems that the head coach isn't messing about when it comes to debuting their rookie, as Easton Cowan is getting premium time on the top line in hopes t'll kickstart their offense.

As a result, Bobby McMann was seen skating in a bottom-six jersey, where he will head back to familiar territory on the third line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson.

The injury to Steven Lorentz necessitated the inclusion of Cowan however the lack of top line production and a brutal showing against Detroit also meant that Craig Berube had to find ways to add some firepower.

Add that he did, as he's bringing in one of the most accomplished junior players in recent memory, who is not only talented enough to help out but has that passion and drive to do whatever it takes to win.

You could see it as Toronto trying to give their top-line a taste of the past and hoping that Cowan can turn into a Mitch Marner-esque playmaker who can help alleviate the pressure from Auston Matthews and help him focus on what he does best: play defense and score goals.

There's also no harm in debuting Cowan, seeing what he can offer for a game or two, then adjusting the lineup as necessary, but hopefully this leads to something more consistent for everyone.

Surely when Scott Laughton and Lorentz return from injury there will be more lineup reshuffling to do, but if the rookie can but in an undeniable performance, it might be harder to take him out once they come back.

Unabashed Maple Leafs fan and podcast host Steve Dangle put it best in his recap of the Detroit game when he mentioned the lineup construction needs to change.

Well it looks like we're getting one involving Toronto's most prized rookie and there's no bigger change than that.