Maple Leafs May Have Finally Found Their Power-Play Spark

Losing Mitch Marner no doubt helped the Toronto Maple Leafs in a lot of ways, but it also hurt them a bunch too.

Besides his elite playmaking and defense, Marner was the catalyst for the team's power play and could be considered the main reason they were so successful; his 33 PP points definitely attest to that.

Well, without that the Maple Leafs are struggling badly, and even though they might not get as many breaks, when they do get them they can't capitalize.

It felt like in years past the team wanted to wait for the perfect pass and would often give up open lane shots for that extra helper; and it was very risky, and for a team already anemic to shooting at times; it was a hard strategy to keep up.

This year they have begun shifting from their usual five-man unit into a more traditional one with Morgan Rielly running things.

So perhaps it's time for a change: a rookie sized change.

For all the comparisons that Easton Cowan and Mitch Marner get, why not try and see if you can emulate some of his production too?

We know how good Cowan is, and while he isn't at the level of Marner; he's already shown some blistering chemistry with Auston Matthews. He doesn't have to QB the power play but he can play the wing and allow Auston Matthews to shoot more instead of facilitating.

You could see a combination such as this which could be a massive boost offensively:

QB: Nylander

Knies - Tavares - Cowan

Matthews

You have Tavares win your face-offs in the offensive zone, Knies plays the net crasher and screener, Matthews is able to start at the top and move his way down towards the net as Toronto cycles the puck to Cowan who has no problem thus far finding the captain.

Plus you give Morgan Rielly a break, and with how aggressive the Maple Leafs are on the PP, having Cowan's engine to get back on defense to prevent shorthanded attempts is super important.

You can't get any worse that starting your season scoreless on the man advantage, so the Toronto Maple Leafs should look to bring in a 'Cowboy' to settle things down.