Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images (left), Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images (right)
According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Maple Leafs nearly traded Easton Cowan to the St. Louis Blues for Brayden Schenn at last year’s trade deadline.
Last year, there was a lot of speculation over who the Toronto Maple Leafs would target at the deadline in order to make their team more balanced heading into a crucial playoff push.
While that didn’t happen, there could have been a very different trade that may have prevented Maple Leafs fans from seeing yet another top prospect.
Toronto had a package for Brayden Schenn involving Easton Cowan
As we know, the Leafs are really limited with the assets they have to pull off a big trade. Last year, Easton Cowan was pushed as a trade chip in an effort to try and obtain Brayden Schenn, but Cowan’s going to be hard to put into play again this season. However, depending on what the return is, we can’t rule out the possibility.
Cowan has earned a spot with the team this season and though he hasn’t ran away with it, he’s slowly becoming more and more important as each game passes.
Alongside Nick Robertson and Nicolas Roy, he’s actually been a huge part of the team’s offense as of late and was crucial in getting Auston Matthews one goal closer to breaking the Leafs all-time record with his relentlessness and hard work.
Schenn would certainly have added a new dynamic to the team and his familiarity with Craig Berube can’t be understated, however the fact that Toronto may have lost another young prospect for a veteran at the deadline wouldn’t have sat well with fans.
Toronto made the right move (even if they got a bit lucky)
Even if Schenn would have elevated Toronto past the second round, the fans would have just seen the team get rid of their top two prospects in Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan for a non-guaranteed chance at success.
That likely prevented the need for them to clean house and wanting to keep Schenn in the fold for a playoff push kept Cowan in Toronto where he’s found a home and should for years to come.
Brad Treliving nearly got rid of the team’s top prospect for a slim chance at glory. He’s lucky it didn’t happen because it could very well have affected his legacy in Toronto and not in a good way.
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Brad Treliving proposed a trade package that included Easton Cowan to the St. Louis Blues
Would it have been a mistake if the Maple Leafs had traded Easton Cowan for Brayden Schenn?