The Athletic wants Toronto to trade Easton Cowan to the Rangers for the wrong player

The Athletic proposed the Toronto Maple Leafs trade for Vincent Trocheck but while it's a great idea in theory perhaps they have the wrong player in mind.

The New York Rangers are trying to get Vincent Trocheck off their books as they look to rebuild and the Athletic put together 7 trade proposals with one including the Maple Leafs. It's a great building block but while Trocheck is a great option, the package they're putting together could be used to bring in a much more important name.

They already dealt away some long time names like Chris Kreider, and they also trade away Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba as GMChris Drury looks to retool. But they still have some veterans they wanna get off their books including Vincent Trocheck.

The Athletic proposes Cowan for Trocheck swap as New York looks to rebuild and Toronto looks to bolster their lineup

He is a very likely candidate to be traded, so it's no secret as to why The Athletic posted an article giving a few proposals for the veteran forward. The Maple Leafs ended up on that last to little surprise however the package itself is a bit shocking.

While the article does mention that the Rangers would target Matthew Knies, they believe he is untouchable (as is the #1 overall pick) so focus shifts to arguably the top trade asset available for Toronto - Easton Cowan:

I concur that Knies would be the initial ask - New York has inquired about his availability - but Jonas [Siegel] is under the impression that Trocheck wouldn't be enough to pry the 23-year-old winger away. Would Drury consider adding another asset to sweeten the deal? Does that even make sense for the Rangers?

Cowan is an intriguing centerpiece...who posted 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) in 66 games as a 20-year-old NHL rookie this season. He's mainly played RW, a clear position of need, and can infuse much-needed offensive creativity. But it would require more than him and a second-round pick to surpass other offers, particularly from Boston and Buffalo.

If it's going to cost the Maple Leafs not only Cowan but also a 2027 second-round pick and potentially others like Nick Robertson or Matias Maccelli (or even their 2027 first via Colorado) and at the price for Trocheck, it may be a bit of an overpayment.

If Toronto trades Cowan then only Adam Fox makes sense coming back

So instead, if they are going to throw so much at Drury and the Rangers, then it only makes sense to go after the big fish - Adam Fox.

Fox, 28, is a player who would transform the Maple Leafs blueline and addresses several needs that are a bit more of a priority than a new 2C.

Fox has averaged 60 points over his seven-year career, and just missed out on his fifth straight 10+ goal season. He's also a right-handed shot who also has 752 hits and a plus-122 rating for his career so it's not like he's a one-trick pony.

He also has an astounding 41% of his career points on the power-play, so adding him to a lineup featuring Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, Gavin McKenna and John Tavares can only lead to good things.

The only caveat is that he is kind of expensive at $9.5-million for the next three years, but he comes at a lesser commitment than Morgan Rielly, offers a lot more overall, and the cap should be strong enough that he can be afforded an extension regardless of price.

But if you're trading Cowan - a player who could get 75-80 points per season - then you have to make it worth it and replace that. With defence a huge need and a win-now window this may be the one case of trading your future for help now.

So if the Maple Leafs want Trocheck then they can get it done without Cowan, but if the Rangers are dead set on acquiring the young forward, then John Chayka has to ask for Fox and stand firm regardless of what Drury wants.

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