It's not very often that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins make trades. Last year at the trade deadline, Bruins' general manager Don Sweeney had a fire sale for his team that was spiraling down the Eastern Conference standings. The Maple Leafs came calling and Sweeney answered.
Toronto wanted defenseman Brandon Carlo, and if Sweeney was going to make a deal, the return was going to have to be worth it. The Maple Leafs ended up sending prospect Fraser Minten and a 2026 conditional first-round pick to the Bruins for Carlo. Also included was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 Draft.
After coming to the Bruins, Minten finished the season in Boston and showed glimpses of what the future could hold. This year, Minten made the roster out of camp and has been very good for the Black and Gold through the first 15 games. Toronto, on the other hand, had one of their top prospects make the roster out of camp, but on Wednesday, he was sent to the American Hockey League (AHL).
Maple Leafs sending Easton Cowan to the AHL while Fraser Minten is thriving in Boston
Easton Cowan, who was picked in the first round of the 2023 Entry Draft with Boston's pick, was sent to the Toronto Marlies while the Maple Leafs activated Scott Laughton off injured reserve. While Cowan is heading to the AHL, Minten is thriving in the NHL with Boston.
Cowan has a goal and four points in 10 games, while Minten has two goals and five points in 15 games. The numbers don't do Minten justice and don't tell the whole story of how good he has played. In Tuesday's 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders, Minten finished the game centering the top line with Marat Khusnutdinov and David Pastrnak. They combined for the game-tying goal with just over five minutes left.
Now there is no telling if Cowan even came up in trade discussions last year when the deal was being made, but Minten was a highly-touted prospect in Toronto's system and getting him is turning out to be a nice piece from a division rival.