Toronto Maple Leafs Desperate for the New Hyman/Bunting

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been an elite team in the NHL for the last four seasons.

In order to be so again, the Toronto Maple Leafs are desperately hoping that Nick Robertson or Matthew Knies can be a star player this year. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their season depends on it.

That is because for the last four seasons, the Leafs took advantage of having an elite player making almost no money.

First it was Zach Hyman, and then it was Michael Bunting.

Toronto Maple Leafs Desperate for Knies or Robertson to Be a Star

Zach Hyman was a star for the Leafs, and the best trade Kyle Dubas ever made.

Funny enough, it was the first trade he ever made, back in 2016 when he called the Panthers and had them give him Hyman.

Hyman went from a grinder to a star, and the Leafs correctly let him walk when his contract came up.  He’s still great, but just not as great as he was when he was making peanuts.

To replace Hyman, the Leafs brought in Michael Bunting for 900K.

Against all odds, Bunting, in his debut season, had a better career year than Zach Hyman has had to date.  You wouldn’t think it, but it’s an indisputable fact.  Bunting scored more 5v5 points than Connor McDavid and posted a ridiculous 60% xGoals rating on his way to one of the best seasons of the century so far (5v5).

Last year, he was great, but obviously he fell off a bit, but the Leafs still won 65% of his minutes.  The Leafs have had 4 x star seasons from Matthews and Marner’s sidekick, all while paying them basically nothing.

In order for the Leafs to again be a top team, they will need the same thing to happen for a fifth year in a row.  Tyler Bertuzzi makes $5 million dollars, so while a lot is expected of him, returning major value on his contract is unlikely if impossible.

The Leafs will turn to two players with an eye to finding the new Hyman/Bunting.

Those players are Nick Robertson and Matthew Knies.  Both are still on their entry-level deals and are not well paid by NHL standards.

One, or both, of them will need to have an amazing season for the Toronto Maple Leafs to flourish.  If the Leafs are smart, Bertuzzi will line up on the second line with Nylander and Tavares, while Knies will get the chance to be the new Bunting or Hyman.