TSN Cameron Gaunce sends bold message to Jim Hiller about Easton Cowan

Easton Cowan is suddenly the Maple Leafs' hottest lineup debate, and it lands right as Toronto heads into tonight's game in Vegas.

TSN analyst Cameron Gaunce wants the 21-year-old moved up beside John Tavares and Kirill Marchenko. He also wants Jim Hiller to keep the lines Toronto finished Tuesday's win over Nashville with.

"I hope he goes with Cowan next to Tavares and Marchenko," Gaunce said on First Up. And the numbers give him a real case.

Four games in, the young forward has three points and a +1 rating.

One of those points was a game-winning goal. Toronto only has two wins, so half the club's winners are sitting on a $900,000 cap hit.

Now look at where he'd land. Tavares and Marchenko have both gone minus-2 so far, which makes this promotion feel more like a repair job than a reward.

The fit works on paper. Marchenko already has a power-play goal and a power-play assist, and the 36-year-old beside him could use some younger legs on that line.

John Tavares line needs a spark as the road trip opens

Here's the catch. Toronto hasn't played a single road game yet, going 2-2-0 entirely at home.

Tonight starts a three-game swing through Vegas, Colorado and Utah. The Leafs don't see their own building again until October 15 against Buffalo.

And Vegas is rolling. The Knights come in at 3-1-0 with a +7 goal differential and two straight wins.

Toronto sits dead even, 11 goals for and 11 against. Push a young forward into a bigger role against that kind of opponent, and the margin for error shrinks fast.

It's a bit like handing the car keys to a teenager who aced the parking lot test, then pointing him straight at the highway.

Hiller should do it anyway. Keeping a kid who already owns a game-winner in a smaller role because the schedule got tougher is exactly how young players lose their edge.

There's a depth problem underneath all of this. Nick Paul has gone minus-4 with a single point.

Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime are still hunting for their first points of the season.

William Nylander has six points and Auston Matthews has five, so the stars are carrying their share. So who drives offence when they cool off?

Cowan has a power-play goal of his own, which suggests he isn't just riding shotgun when Toronto has the man advantage.

The overtime win over Nashville remains the only head-to-head this season, a 5-4 escape that didn't exactly scream defensive structure.

Gaunce made his pitch. Whatever Hiller sends out beside Tavares tonight will say plenty about how much rope the kid really has on the road.

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