Easton Cowan just torched Columbus for three points, and Maple Leafs fans are ready to ship him out for Zach Werenski anyway.
A Leafs prospects fan account floated the hypothetical on Wednesday. Columbus calls, offers its top defenseman straight up for the 21-year-old, and the replies keep landing on yes.
The timing borders on absurd. Last night in Columbus, the young forward scored shorthanded and set up two more in a 6-2 Toronto win.
He went plus-3 in 13:38. Seven other Toronto forwards got more ice than he did.
Cowan now has 10 points through 11 games. Two of his four goals are game-winners, and his cap hit sits at $900,000.
So why would anyone even entertain hanging up on that?
Because Werenski did everything but score in that same game. He fired 8 shots on goal for a Columbus team that got buried on home ice.
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Toronto's thin blue line keeps the Werenski dream alive
Look at who Jim Hiller leaned on last night. Troy Stecher led all Toronto skaters with 26:25, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson wasn't far behind at 23:20.
Jake McCabe played just 4:15 and now sits day-to-day with a face injury. A thin group just got thinner.
Morgan Rielly chipped in three assists. He's still hunting his first goal of the season, though, and carries a -4 rating through 11 games.
Toronto has allowed 35 goals over 11 games. Auston Matthews and his 18 points can cover a lot of mistakes, but not all of them.
Here's my call. Saying yes is the right instinct.
Werenski brings six assists and a +6 rating through eight games, on a club that's been outscored by nine. Nobody on Toronto's back end is posting a number like that.
But the cap is where the fantasy hits the boards. His $9,583,333 hit is the sixth-highest among NHL defensemen.
Cowan's deal is the hockey version of a rent-controlled apartment downtown. Nobody hands those keys back without a fight.
The swap would add $8,683,333 to a payroll already paying Matthews $13,250,000 and William Nylander $11,500,000.
Would Don Waddell even take the call? Columbus is 3-5-0, last in the Metropolitan Division, and still looking for its first road win at 0-2-0.
Rick Bowness can't easily replace those minutes either. No skater on either side logged more than Werenski's 27:11 last night.
Columbus visits Toronto on November 21. Before then, the Leafs host the Rangers on Thursday and head west to Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle and Vancouver with this blue line.
Cowan keeps producing. The back end keeps leaking goals. How long can Toronto live with that split?
Would you trade Easton Cowan for Zach Werenski straight up?
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