The Toronto Maple Leafs may be willing to move a premium piece to help their blue line, but Easton Cowan does not sound like he’s going anywhere.
That was the message from Elliotte Friedman on the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, where he said Toronto views Cowan as someone who has taken a major step forward in a short amount of time and is now being treated like a real part of the team’s future. With the Leafs already having included Matthew Knies in the deal for Kirill Marchenko, the question becomes what else they’d be willing to put on the table. For now, Cowan seems to be off limits, and Toronto may instead be looking at other prospects or the 2027 first-round pick it received from Colorado.
There is also uncertainty around William Nylander heading into Toronto’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Nylander missed the morning skate because of an illness, and head coach Jim Hiller said he would be a game-time decision. Auston Matthews sounded upbeat when asked about him, smiling and saying, “I think he’s going to be great.”
The morning skate gave a few clues about how Toronto was lining things up if Nylander can’t go. Bo Groulx skated with Matthews and Jack Roslovic, while Cowan was with Nick Paul and Kirill Marchenko.
Gavin McKenna, Colton Sissons and Vinni Lettieri made up another line, and Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen were the final forward group. Sergei Bobrovsky was also in line to start in goal again for the Maple Leafs.
Elsewhere, the Detroit Red Wings may be feeling a growing sense of urgency around Dylan Larkin. Friedman suggested the club could be reevaluating how long it wants to let the situation go, and he specifically raised the concern of how long Detroit is willing to risk Larkin getting hurt. He also pointed to the recent Connor Hellebuyck situation as something that may have added to the pressure, even if the connection between the two situations isn’t entirely clear.
And in the background of all this, the Montreal Canadiens may have taken a look at another familiar name while working on their pursuit of Kirill Marchenko. Friedman reported that some of his sources believed Rickard Rakell was among the players Montreal explored as part of a possible deal involving Columbus. It’s still unclear whether the Canadiens made a formal offer or how close Rakell came to being moved, but his name being in the mix suggests they were considering multiple ways to structure a deal that might get Columbus’s attention.
That also fits with what Friedman said Saturday on Headlines: the Penguins are open to moving older veterans in exchange for younger assets. Rakell would be near the top of that list for GM Kyle Dubas if Pittsburgh decides to shop more widely.
In Other News...
Penguins Still Havent Solved The Problem Crosby Keeps Pointing To
The Penguins came away from their meeting with the Golden Knights looking a lot like a team still searching for a steadier gear. Pittsburgh was chasing almost from the opening shift after Vegas jumped ahead early, and even a second-period power-play goal could not pull the game back into line. What lingered afterward was not just the final score, but the familiar concern Sidney Crosby and Mike Sullivan both pointed toward afterward: the need for the group to be more consistent and harder to rattle when a game starts slipping away.
For a team that wants to keep its season moving in the right direction, the frustration is less about one bad night than what it suggested about the bigger picture. The Penguins have enough talent to generate offense in spurts, but losses like this keep exposing the same issue, and that is why Crosbys postgame message carried extra weight. Sullivan echoed the need for improvement, leaving Pittsburgh with more questions than answers as it tries to turn individual stretches of play into something more dependable. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Blue Line Shuffle Puts Spotlight On One Short-Term Opportunity
With the blue line still dealing with injuries, the Penguins made a quick roster adjustment by recalling Ilya Solovyov from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after sending Ryan Johnson back to the AHL. Solovyov gets a short-term opening on the NHL roster, and it comes at a time when Pittsburgh is trying to keep its defensive depth intact while waiting for regulars to get healthier.
Solovyov already has some NHL experience, with 30 games across two teams last season, and he has one assist in three AHL games this season. The catch for Pittsburgh is that Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves remain on injured reserve but are expected back soon, which could make this stay a brief one and leave the Penguins sorting out their next move again before long. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Back In A Trade Talk Tied To Marchenko Void
The Penguins early-season roster math is starting to point toward a familiar kind of decision, with Kyle Dubas exploring ways to get younger and potentially clear space for some of the clubs newer faces. Among the veteran forwards mentioned in that conversation is Rickard Rakell, whose name has surfaced before in trade talks and whose situation remains worth watching as Pittsburgh weighs present value against future flexibility.
Rakells market is complicated by the fact that he has not yet found an early rhythm, and that matters for a player who was already in the mix for possible movement over the offseason. Columbus had been involved in previous discussions, but nothing came together, and with the Blue Jackets still a logical fit for the kind of wing help theyve chased before, the backdrop feels familiar even if the timing is different. For the Penguins, the question is whether the right deal ever materializes, or whether a slow start simply keeps the entire conversation in limbo for now. [Read more 🡒]