Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Fraser Minten signed a seven-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins carrying a $7.2 million cap hit. He is currently about to enter the third and final year of his entry-level contract, which carries an $879,166 cap hit.
Obviously, this move drew a lot of attention, especially among fans of the Toronto franchise, and in the most recent edition of Leafs Morning Take, Nick Alberga and former NHL player Jay Rosehill discussed the matter.
They even brought up the possibility that Easton Cowan, the 21-year-old Leafs forward, has the potential to be as good as, or even better than, Minten, emphasizing the possibility that Cowan could soon sign a contract of similar financial magnitude to Minten’s.
What Does Fraser Minten’s $7.2M Deal Mean for Easton Cowan?
“I want to get back to the Cowan conversation for a quick sec, because that’s where my head ultimately went to today, seeing the Fraser Minten contract: seven years, $7.2 million bucks. What does this mean for an Easton Cowan?” Alberga began asking.
“I think you’re in the same boat. We expect a big step in the right direction in year two of the three-year ELC here for Easton Cowan. I do feel like we’re in a world where Cowan has a pretty productive season along the same lines of what we just saw from Fraser Minten year one in Boston. I think we are looking at a conversation where that’s going to be the AAV for an Easton Cowan.”
“I think there’s just going to be some sticker shock with some of these signings. We’ve seen it the last couple of months,” he added, before making it clear that, “but I do think Cowan has the potential to be as good as Fraser Minten, if not better than this guy.”
Rosehill responded that it is definitely possible to see a scenario where Easton Cowan’s making seven, eight million bucks a season.
He added, “But I look at Matthew Knies’ contract and say, oh man (…) it’s crazy what they’ve done. But because of that, you’re looking at the other guys that are, you know, maybe the Cowan contract and how much bigger it’s going to be than people would have expected a year ago will kind of offset that Knies one.”
Maple Leafs Can Fit Easton Cowan’s Big Deal, Rosehill Believes
Rosehill concluded that he believes Cowan’s next contract will be higher than people might anticipate, but argued that it is fine because he is a quality player who will live up to the expectations that come with a contract of that magnitude.
He said, “There’s going to be a lot of people pushed up against the cap and having these big signings, and if they don’t work out, there are those big dollars. I understand the cap’s higher. But there’ll be some people up against the wall who have rolled the dice trying to gamble on a guy that isn’t paying off, and those are going to be hard to unload.”
“But yeah, it’s going to be higher than people anticipated it would have been a year ago for Easton Cowan when he does become RFA. But that’s going to be fine. I think he’s a quality player, and I think they’ll be able to fit it in. And again, those good contracts like the Knies one, which there’s not a ton of them, but more and more as we go on into this new era, you’re going to look back at guys that signed previous to this summer that are going to look like pretty valuable contracts.”
Maple Leafs Handed Blunt Take on Easton Cowan vs. Fraser Minten