Trade talks surrounding Easton Cowan have to cease after the young forward's start to the 2026-27 season has made him untouchable for the Maple Leafs.
As the Maple Leafs focused on improving their blue line and top-six, Easton Cowan was a name that was thrown about as a potential trade candidate as he would no doubt earn quite the nice haul for his services.
But in 2026-27 that seems to be something a little harder to convince the Maple Leafs to do considering that he's really starting to show signs of that star potential that he was expected to after bring drafted.
Toronto can't trade Cowan no matter what
Already a spark plug in the lineup, Cowan quickly earned himself a promotion due to his heart and tenacity - not to mention his offensive prowess.
But the questions about whether he is going to be with the team as they continue their quest to improve the lineup need to end because honestly - he's untouchable. Now you can't say that definitively considering that Matthew Knies was dealt away and we all thought he was untouchable.
Looking at what Cowan has done and how effective he's been this season - it's a big reason why the team's offensive game looks night and day from the past two seasons.
He's second on the team in goals expected behind only William Nylander, third in points-per-60, and has an absurd 14.3% shooting percentage on unblocked shot attempts above expected - almost double second-place held by Gavin McKenna.
Cowan's role has become the perfect compliment for Auston Matthews
It's frankly, quite the glow-up for Cowan who is not only offensively gifted but also a relentless puck hound.
That type of tenacity has led to battles down low being won, turnovers by opponents, and more scoring chances for Toronto. He's sitting in the 96th percentile in average speed, already has 13 shots on goal, and the location has been critical - they're in high-danger areas.
Personally, Cowan reminds me a lot of Darcy Tucker. He's a scrappy player who is offensively gifted, but defensively sound and courageous enough to get into the dirty areas. He was a key reason in Mats Sundin's success in Toronto, as he was always able to win those battles and use his playmaking to set up Sundin.
They are also similar in the sense that people don't get under their skin, and they would much rather fight back than shy away. Cowan is a bit bigger than Tucker, so he's harder to push around, and as we've seen this season, he'll hit anything that moves too - he's really a complete package.
It's not too often you have a 96-point player in the OHL step into a more scrappy, two-way role. But Cowan has learned that his strengths lie not only in offense, but in being a Rottweiler for Jim Hiller.
But for the Cowboy, he's clearly ready to wrangle whatever the NHL throws in front of him and Toronto would be foolish to even think about giving him away.
Do you think the Maple Leafs should make Easton Cowan untouchable in trade talks?
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