Toronto Maple Leafs Should Let Michael Bunting Walk in Free Agency

We all need to take a minute to appreciate how great Michael Bunting’s career with the Toronto Maple Leafs has been.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs originally signed Bunting to a two-year deal worth $950K AAV, many fans saw the news and went “who?” The unfamiliar face only had 26 NHL games under his belt and had spent the majority of his last six professional seasons playing in the AHL.

For a player with little NHL experience, it felt like a quite the risk. However, as he usually is, general manager Kyle Dubas was right in bringing in Bunting, as he’s been nothing short of a home-run.

The Scarborough, ON native was nominated for the Calder Trophy in his rookie campaign and has found a perfect role on the team’s top-line. After Zach Hyman signed a monster deal with the Edmonton Oilers, finding his replacement was going to be a tall-task, but Bunting has filled that role admirably.

In fact, he’s been even more productive based on the fact that Hyman made double what Bunting makes when Hyman was with the Leafs, and now makes 5x the money that Bunting is currently making.

If there’s one current Leaf that is ready for a monster pay-raise, it’s Bunting. Whether or not that will happen in Toronto remains a question, but my assumption is that this is his last year with the organization.

Toronto Maple Leafs Should Let Bunting Walk in Free Agency

As much as Bunting was another slam-dunk signing by Dubas, his two years is almost up and the Leafs don’t have a chance at re-signing him. He’s a fantastic player, but he’s walking himself into Hyman territory.

You would think that anyone can jump on a line with Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid and be productive, but that’s not always the case. Even a veteran like Joe Thornton had trouble, as well as Nick Ritchie in the short-stint he had with the Leafs.

As a result, Bunting is going to have many suitors, especially on team’s that have very skillful centre’s.

• Michael Bunting (stats: hockeydb.com):
  • 2021-22 Season: 23 Goals and 63 Points (79 Games Played – 0.29 GPG/0.80 PPG)
  • 2022-23 Season: 20 Goals and 43 Points (65 Games Played – 0.31 GPG/0.66 PPG)
• Zach Hyman:
  • 2019-20 Season: 21 Goals and 37 Points (51 Games Played – 0.41 GPG/0.72 PPG)
  • 2020-21 Season: 15 Goals and 33 Points (43 Games Played – 0.35 GPG/0.77 PPG)

If you compare Bunting’s tenure with the Leafs to Hyman’s last two seasons with the Leafs, both players are very similar. Hyman has had a better goals-per-game average, but both player’s points-per-game averages are essentially the same.

With 29 goals and 72 points in 66 games this year, Hyman has definitely been a beneficiary beside Connor McDavid’s historic season, but he’s making a big case for why Bunting should get paid.

Bunting has shown that he can be a key contributor on a winning franchise paired beside a Hart Trophy winner, like Hyman, so there’s no doubt that he can do the same thing beside another great centre. So, once this season is all set-and-done, Bunting should have a lot of offers, seeking something around the seven-year, $38.5M contract that Hyman signed.

Unless Bunting is willing to take a hometown discount, they should let him walk into free agency. The Leafs have found the likes of Hyman and Bunting before and there’s no doubt that they can do it again.