Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumours: Cowan, McKenna, Groulx & a Different Top Six? – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

There is something curious happening with the Toronto Maple Leafs heading into training camp. For once, some of the more intriguing lineup questions aren’t necessarily about who Toronto needs to bring in. They could be about what the Maple Leafs already have. Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan give the organization two young forwards who could potentially change the look of the top six, while Bo Groulx is another player who has given the team something to think about after a strong season with the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies.

None of these players is guaranteed a major role, of course. That’s the important part. McKenna still has to show he’s ready for the NHL, Cowan has to build on his rookie season, and Groulx has only a small NHL sample to his name. But that’s also what makes training camp interesting. Toronto has some internal competition for jobs, and sometimes that can be more valuable than simply signing another veteran and handing him a spot.

The Maple Leafs Could Have Two Very Different Top-Six Options

The thing about Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan isn’t necessarily which one makes the Maple Leafs’ top six. It’s that Toronto could have two young forwards who give the coaching staff very different options. McKenna is the obvious offensive wild card. If he’s ready for the NHL right away, putting him beside Auston Matthews could give the Maple Leafs a dynamic playmaker on their top line. Cowan is a different kind of player. He may not have McKenna’s offensive ceiling, but his ability to compete, retrieve pucks and make plays could make him a potential fit alongside John Tavares.

That creates a pretty good problem for Toronto. The Maple Leafs don’t necessarily have to decide which youngster is better. They can decide which youngster fits which line. If McKenna handles the NHL right away, Matthews and McKenna could become one of the more intriguing offensive combinations on the team. Meanwhile, if Cowan continues to mature, he could give Tavares a younger, faster winger who can do some of the dirty work and create space. There is room for both players to succeed without asking them to fill exactly the same role.

And that’s probably the part worth watching when training camp arrives. McKenna could be the player who raises the ceiling of the top six, while Cowan could be the player who makes one of those lines tougher to play against. Toronto doesn’t need these two players competing for exactly the same job. If anything, having them develop into different kinds of forwards could give the Leafs something they haven’t had enough of in recent years: genuine internal options when they’re putting the top six together.

Could Groulx Be Toronto’s Next McMann?

In the comments section of a recent The Hockey Writers post, Reader OldDuffer makes a good point about Bo Groulx and the chances he could have with the Maple Leafs. The comparison to Bobby McMann isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough to make me stop for a minute. Both are bigger forwards who had to prove themselves in the AHL before getting a real NHL opportunity. McMann eventually turned that opportunity into a useful middle-six role, and Groulx may be trying to follow a similar path.

Groulx certainly gave Toronto something to think about. He put together a strong season with the Marlies before getting his NHL opportunity, and he showed enough with the Maple Leafs to make the conversation worthwhile. Those few NHL games obviously aren’t enough to declare a player an NHL regular. We’ve all seen players have a good week or two and then disappear. But Groulx didn’t simply stumble into those games. His AHL season, with 27 goals and 50 points in 54 games, gave him something to build on, and he carried some of that confidence with him to Toronto.

So, no, the team shouldn’t assume Groulx is the next McMann. But it shouldn’t dismiss the possibility, either. McMann showed that sometimes a player just needs the right opportunity and a little confidence before things start to click. That’s what makes Groulx worth watching when camp opens. He may not have a guaranteed job, but he has done enough to earn a serious look.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

Put the two stories together, and there is a bigger point. Toronto doesn’t need every young player to become a star. It needs some of them to become useful NHL players who can fill specific roles. McKenna could add offensive creativity, Cowan could bring pace and compete to the middle six, and Groulx could provide size, energy and versatility further down the lineup. That’s how a roster gets deeper without spending another big chunk of money, and this time some of the answers could come from within the organization.

The biggest question heading into camp may not be whether McKenna, Cowan or Groulx can make the team. It’s what each player can give Toronto if he does. McKenna could change the look of the top line, Cowan could give Tavares a different kind of winger, and Groulx has a chance to show his Marlies success wasn’t just a hot streak. If even one of them takes a meaningful step forward, the Maple Leafs will be better for it. If two or three do, suddenly those lineup decisions become a lot more interesting—and a lot more difficult.