Every minute Jarnkrok plays in a lost season is a minute Easton Cowan never gets back
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Craig Berube's insistence on giving Calle Jarnkrok minutes in the lineup is taking away from Easton Cowan and right now, that's inexcusable from the head coach.
With the playoffs out of sight and needing a serious injection of life, the Toronto Maple Leafs could do themselves a favour and end up playing their rookies a little more to see what potential they have.
Names like Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan have appeared in the lineup, but not as much as fans might hope thanks to Craig Berube's insistence on playing veterans like Calle Jarnkrok instead.
Jarnkrok is getting minutes, and why it makes zero sense
Jarnkrok, 33, is averaging 11:26 TOI and has only seven points, a minus-9, and nowhere near an effective offensive or defensive player. Last year he has as many points in 19 games, so his production has more than just slipped a bit.
Cowan has averaged better overall time per game with 13:36 however he was also scratched for an entire month while Jarnkrok plodded along doing much of nothing.
Toronto also handicapped themselves by putting Cowan in games but using him sparingly, thus preventing them from sending him to the AHL over the Olympic break to get some more reps.
He's also earned the minutes and his sheer grittiness and can-do attitude has endeared him to fans. He has 51 hits and 24 blocks, so he's not shy about getting involved and for a presumed offensive weapon -- the physicality is an added bonus.
Cowan has earned his shot with the Maple Leafs especially in a lost season
Is he perfect? Absolutely not and there are still holes in his game like discipline and perhaps trying to do a bit too much at times but overall has shown a lot more life and excitement than Jarnkrok with 19 points in 48 games.
That would put him 23rd overall in rookie scoring this year and ahead of names like Michael Misa, Denver Barkey, and former Maple Leafs prospects Alex Steeves and Nikita Grebenkin, and that's with missing a month.
He could very well have another six or seven points which would have him sitting near the Top-10 but instead Toronto sat him trying to cling onto some fleeting playoff dreams.
Berube not treating the season as a loss, even if it clearly is
With 20 games left in the season, Toronto is going to want to finish as worse as possible in order to get closer to their pick protection sent to Boston in the Brandon Carlo deal.
Adding Cowan doesn't make them worse, but he's not someone who will affect the standings to any high degree.
This is someone who the Maple Leafs have clearly invested in, so why not push him to his limits when you have nothing to lose and see if he can bring some hope for the future.
Berube continuing to try and play things off as a year worth salvaging is noble as a head coach. Obviously you don't want him to flat out say 'Yeah, we're hopeless' but fans know what's going on and you can't pull the rug over their eyes.
In a world where the Maple Leafs are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade, maybe it's time for Craig Berube to help give fans that hope again by playing Easton Cowan.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 9|996 ANSWERS Every minute Jarnkrok plays in a lost season is a minute Easton Cowan never gets back Do you think Calle Jarnkrok should be benched in favour of Easton Cowan? | ||
| Yes | 880 | 88.4 % |
| No | 116 | 11.6 % |
| List of polls | ||