{"id":538829,"date":"2026-04-03T17:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538829\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T17:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T17:29:19","slug":"maple-leafs-news-rumours-tavares-stolarz-cowans-got-to-wonder-the-hockey-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538829\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Tavares, Stolarz & Cowan’s Got to Wonder – The Hockey Writers –"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> walked into SAP Center on Thursday night and ran into a team that knows exactly who they are. The San Jose Sharks are young, fast, and playing with confidence. The Maple Leafs are not. The result was a 4\u20131 loss<\/a> that never really felt in doubt.<\/p>\n

Zack Ostapchuk<\/a> got things started early, setting the tone. A few minutes in, a breakdown, a shot through a screen, and suddenly, Toronto was chasing the game. Later in the period, Collin Graf<\/a> capitalized on a turnover, and it was 2\u20130 before the Maple Leafs could find their footing. That\u2019s the game right there \u2014nothing catastrophic, just enough mistakes, and a team on the other side ready to make Toronto pay for them.<\/p>\n

Related: Today in Hockey History: April 3<\/a><\/p>\n

John Tavares gave them a flicker of hope on the power play in the second, but it never felt like a push was coming. William Eklund had already restored the three-goal gap, and Toronto didn\u2019t have another gear. They finished with just 19 shots. That\u2019s been the story all season.<\/p>\n

In net, Anthony Stolarz was just fine. He made 21 saves, with no real chance on the shots that beat him. Again, this loss wasn\u2019t on him. Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic had one of those easy nights\u2014see it, stop it, move on.<\/p>\n

Item One: Tavares Still Producing, Even as Season Slips<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one player who hasn\u2019t drifted, it\u2019s Tavares. He got the Maple Leafs on the board again last night, and he\u2019s put up six goals and four assists in his last seven games. On a team that\u2019s had trouble finding consistency, he\u2019s been just about the only player providing it.<\/p>\n

\"JohnToronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

He now has 29 goals and 65 points, and those are far from empty numbers. He\u2019s doing it the same way he always has\u2014around the net, on the power play, taking the bumps, making the plays that don\u2019t always get noticed unless you\u2019re looking for them. Sixteen of his points have come with the man advantage.<\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs Reportedly Discussed Blockbuster Trades With Canadiens & Sabres at Deadline<\/a><\/p>\n

He\u2019s a professional, and that hasn\u2019t wavered, even as the season has fallen apart around him. He\u2019s one goal away from another 30-goal campaign, and while that might not change anything in the standings, it says a lot about him as a player. The year has gone sideways; he hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Item Two: Stolarz Solid, but Left Exposed<\/p>\n

This one won\u2019t look great on Stolarz\u2019s stat sheet, but those who watched the game know better. He stopped 21 of 24, and the fourth went into an empty net. That\u2019s a decent night\u2019s work, especially given how the game was played in front of him.<\/p>\n

\"AnthonyAnthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

He did a nice job against Macklin Celebrini and San Jose\u2019s top line, which could\u2019ve made things a ton uglier. But the Sharks got contributions up and down the lineup, and Toronto didn\u2019t have an answer. That\u2019s where the game slipped\u2014and the difference between the teams on this night showed.<\/p>\n

Related: Ex-Maple Leafs\u2019 Defenseman Jake Gardiner: Where Is He Now?<\/a><\/p>\n

Now that the games don\u2019t carry playoff weight for the Maple Leafs, we can look at usage. Stolarz is 10-10-3, and you would think that he and Joseph Woll will split games more evenly with six games remaining. These last games are more about information than results.<\/p>\n

Item Three: Easton Cowan Had to Be Watching the Other Side<\/p>\n

I kept coming back to this while thinking about the game. What does it feel like for Easton Cowan to look across the ice and see that group of buzzing youngsters wearing Pacific teal? Because the Sharks\u2019 young players aren\u2019t just \u201cpromising.\u201d They\u2019re playing together, producing together, and pushing games in their direction. <\/p>\n

\"EastonToronto Maple Leafs right wing Easton Cowan and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov fight. (Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Graf, Eklund, Celebrini and the rest look connected. They play with a rhythm the Maple Leafs can\u2019t come close to matching. You can see it in how they move the puck, how they support each other, and how quickly things happen.<\/p>\n

Cowan made a nice play and picked up an assist. But it\u2019s different for him in Toronto. He\u2019s one of the very few young players trying to find space in a lineup that doesn\u2019t have much jump. In San Jose, those young players are the identity. One hundred and thirty-five points<\/a> from teenagers on the Sharks this season is sixth all-time in single-season NHL history, with games remaining.<\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs Fans Need to Appreciate John Tavares<\/a><\/p>\n

For Cowan, part of him must wonder what it would be like to be part of a group that matches his pace, his instincts, his game. He\u2019s going to be a great player, but right now, he could be having more fun.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next for the Maple Leafs?<\/p>\n

This is an awkward stretch, with the larger truth sitting there. The Maple Leafs are out of it. Officially. If you watched this one, you could feel it. The effort was there in patches, but the bite was missing. The Maple Leafs aren\u2019t mailing it in, but not exactly revving the engine either.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re somewhere in between, and that shows up in little things. A half-second late on a read. A pass just off. A puck not quite cleared. Some effort, but little execution. The details loosen.<\/p>\n

So what matters now? Who\u2019s pushing? Who\u2019s staying sharp? Who\u2019s still treating these games like they count for something? We know Tavares is. Cowan looks like he is. The goalies have been. The question now is: who else?<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Maple Leafs walked into SAP Center on Thursday night and ran into a team that knows…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[54,8450,5,611,20,5172,4,66,31,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-538829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-anthony-stolarz","9":"tag-easton-cowan","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-john-tavares","12":"tag-maple-leafs","13":"tag-mapleleafs","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-toronto","16":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","17":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116341964034691686","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}