Bunting’s Next Contract

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Holl likely isn't back, Acciari isn't getting any sort of raise and is getting paid scarcely more than replacement player money. Liljegren isn't due for another season.

My answer, which nobody will like, is that we trade Nylander this offseason while his value is the highest. Gutting the team's depth every summer is getting old, and I'd much rather reap the haul of assets and cap space that a Nylander trade would bring. If we commit to him long term, we're going to have to completely gut the team next summer to bridge the gap until JT's on a smaller contract, and that's just not it. Why are we so hellbent on continuing the big4 experiment that has brought us nothing? Make the hard choice now, retain the quality depth that we have built, and get a massive haul for a player who's next contract we simply cannot afford.

We could trade Marner instead.
Matthews will be gone before next season starts. He'll be traded at the draft at the latest.
 
So you think Keefe and Dubas would chose Bunting over Holl?

I'm not saying Holl is retained, I'm saying for the same money Holl would likely get the nod.

Played as a top 4 defender, compared to a complementary player being carried by two star players.
If they don't win the Cup I expect Dubas and Keefe to be gone.
 
Kypreos doesn't strike me as someone whose going to have a lot of internal sources with a Dubas'/Shanny/Keefe front office, so I'd be skeptical of any internal rumors he's floating, unless Bunting's agent is playing media games which i also doubt.

If he DOES want 5 mil, no thanks, he's not going to deliver that type of on ice value to the Leafs. He's great, but he's a passenger on his line, not a play driver and is replaceable.

I'd see what kind of discount he'd be willing to give on in the aav on a 6-7 year term deal that's front loaded.
 
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At 5 million per, I pass. If he played away from Matthews and Marner, you’re looking at a 30 point player.

Ideally a 3.5 million per over 8 years would be a solid contract for both sides. The highest I would go would be 4 million and that’s definitely on the high end.
Spot on.

He wants money, he can have it over term, but we can’t allocate 5 million to him, especially when he needs to be glued to Marner or Matthews to be effective. 3.5-4 on 8 years works for us as we get him for cheap AAV and it should work for him because we can front load the shit out of the deal and he can still make 20+ mil
 
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Pretty sure we can go out and grab another ex Soo player making league minimum and put him next to AM & MM and they'll put up 50 points just by dressing
 
I can't believe how disliked Bunting seems to be. Is it just people assuming they won't be able to afford him and pre-emptively trashing him? Fitting in along side your top players and making them better isn't as easy as it seems, such as Nick Ritchie and Joe Thornton.

He's 11th in 5v5 points in the last two seasons, tied with Leon Draisaitl. He's also absolutely beloved by the team and brings an edge that nobody else on the team has. This is a player you bring back unless he wants a stupid contract
 
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I can't believe how disliked Bunting seems to be. Is it just people assuming they won't be able to afford him and pre-emptively trashing him? Fitting in along side your top players and making them better isn't as easy as it seems, such as Nick Ritchie and Joe Thornton.

He's 11th in 5v5 points in the last two seasons, tied with Leon Draisaitl. He's also absolutely beloved by the team and brings an edge that nobody else on the team has. This is a player you bring back unless he wants a stupid contract
BINGO !!!
 

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