A major change may be coming to the NHL's CBA that could have greatly benefitted the Leafs and Easton Cowan

It's something that's been talked about a lot over the past few years, and it looks like the NHL may be ready to embrace it. The pause that some have, though, is over what it could do to junior leagues across Canada.

The NHL and the NHL's Player Association are getting ready to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement that will cover rules for just about everything. According to a report from Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, one potential change being looked at is AHL eligibility for 19 year old players.

As it stands right now, players under the age of 20 from Canada must be sent back to their junior teams in either the QMJHL, OHL, or WHL if their NHL team decides not to keep them on the roster. This rule does not apply to other leagues around the globe.

I'm sure the Toronto Maple Leafs would have loved to have sent Easton Cowan to the AHL after he was cut from the main roster during training camp, but as a 19 year old, he was not eligible and was sent back to the OHL's London Knights. Cowan has arguably outgrown junior hockey, but it was the only option the Maple Leafs had, as the young forward was not quite NHL-ready.

Cowan has been red hot in the OHL since being cut by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it's hard not to wonder whether he's being properly challenged at that level right now. Changing the CBA to allow more AHL eligibility could have benefitted Cowan and the Leafs greatly, but the rule is in place so Canada's junior leagues don't lose all their talent and become uninteresting to watch.

The NCAA and Canada's junior leagues are also preparing to re-work their agreement to ensure players can switch leagues if they feel they need to do so. There are issues to consider, but it would be great to see young hockey players getting more options rather than being told where they have to play.