TSN: Gord Miller / Jamie Noodles McLennan give their opinion on Michael Bunting

[zeke]

Exactly. I just don’t see why Kase or any other wingers can’t play on opposite wings if the teams need them to.

Yeah it's best to ignore LW/RW. I mean even Hyman was originally a RW. Anyone who makes a big deal about wingers on one side while ignoring the other is either ignorant or has an agenda.

In the Leafs' case, they have one of the best pairs of 1st line wingers in hockey. They also have excellent winger depth.

Where the leafs lack - and it is legit the biggest hole on the team - is in not having established top-6 wingers to fill the 3rd and 4th winger slots. That being said, they now have a whole bunch of young and youngprime wildcards all with a legit chance to be able to fill those roles, and with our elite top-4 to play with its a decent bet that 1 or 2 of them will step up and fill the roles at at least an average level.

 

[zeke]

I think Kase will be with AM and Marner.
Bunting and Ri

Pretty huge deal whether Kase shows up healthy and makes it through camp healthy - because if he does, he's a clear-cut top-6 talent and yeah I'd easily have him up there.

I imagine that the Leafs wouldn't have signed him unless there weren't some promising signs in the medicals...though admittedly even if there are good signs he's still a huge injury risk going forward.

 

[Gabriel426]

Pretty huge deal whether Kase shows up healthy and makes it through camp healthy - because if he does, he's a clear-cut top-6 talent and yeah I'd easily have him up there.

I imagine that the Leafs wouldn't have signed him unless there weren't some promising signs in the medicals...though admittedly even if there are good signs he's still a huge injury risk going forward.

No doubt about it. But the reward for Kase could be a 35 goals scorer next to AM. It is a good gamble.

 

[ULF_55]

Highlights for 2021.

 

[Menzinger]

Because they currently have around $12M in cap space. It would have been dead easy for the Coyotes to outbid the Leafs.

Players also sometimes don't want to play for teams any longer too. A team may want the player, but it's a two way street

 

[notbias]

I agree we don’t need a Hyman replacement on the top line, we need a Hyman improvement.
I do think Kase is the guy if he stays healthy.
As for Bunting, I don’t think he can be a 25G/55pts player but expecting him to be 15G/30pts.

For the most part, I agree, but it all depends where Bunting plays...

Obviously, it wouldn't have continued and maybe my memory is not serving me right, but Thornton put up 10 points in 11 games playing with Marner and Matthews before he got injured. If someone could find his actual statistics for playing with Marner/Matthews, that would be appreciated (not sure where to look), I know Hyman vs Thornton had very little difference when it came to gf%.

If Bunting is on the top line, there is potential for him to be a 40+ pt player just by being stapled to two top 10 players, we can call it the Hyman effect.

 

[Sypher04]

Not sure if it will be Bunting, but there's no reason Matthews/Marner shouldn't be able to form a good top line with one of the left wingers the Leafs signed. Hyman's contributions to the top line are heavily overrated. A bigger concern is what the 3rd line will be like if they can't send Hyman down to carry it

while I agree, with everything, I’m not sure I’d call it a concern per se, given Hyman almost never played there

 

[VanW27]

Not saying Bunting will replace Hyman, but I would like to point out you would hear those exact same quotes if you compared Hyman of just a few years ago to the Hyman we saw the last couple years.

Hyman was looking like a nothing prospect, his first 3 years of college he put up only 13G and 35pts in 114GP before exploding for 54pts in 37GP as a senior.

Once he turned pro:

23YO season:
59GP - 15G, 22A, 37pts (AHL)
16GP - 4G, 2A, 6pts (NHL)
Good but not amazing for a 23YO rookie. Work ethic was clear as was responsible defensive play and forchecking ability. Offensive upside was questionable

24YO Season:
82GP - 10G, 18A, 28pts
Joined at the hip to Matthews due to his forechecking and defensive play, no offense to speak of.

25YO Season:
82GP - 15G, 25A, 40pts
Still joined to Matthews, offense starts to come a bit but still seen as lacking

26YO Season:
71GP - 21G, 20A, 41pts
This is where the step forward as a player and when fan/media perception changed. No longer a hard worker and complimentary who cant finish that is miscast as a top 6 player, now he brings some offense of his own and is seen as a legitimate top 6 player.

And the last couple seasons he has continued to improve offensively.

Hymans development as a 22-28 year old player has been remarkable and extremely rare. So I guess my point is this, is Hyman really as good as he seems? Is the remarkable development a mirage and is he really just the same hard working grinder who found himself in a plum role next to elite offensive players who like to play a style of offensive hockey (half court type, puck control) he's perfectly suited to?

 

[Sypher04]

Yeah i thought it was a bit much seeing all of the Super Fans slot him in 1st LW in their lineups.

I think it’s a bit much that there are still people here who think a player being pencilled into a top 6 role means that fans think they are a legitimate proven top 6 player right now. Because the last 5 years have proven that there are a multitude of reasons as to why players are slotted where they are that have nothing to do with individual quality

never mind that Bunting in fact did play top 6 for Arizona with Garland and did very well as a rookie.

I’m not counting on it by any means, but if he plays top 6 LW this season, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he pots 20

 

[cupcrazyman]

Our forward group looks terrible.

 

[Buds17]

I wouldn't place the onus of replacing Hyman all onto Bunting. There might be a fair opportunity for him here to start off with, and perhaps a better one if a forward is traded. I wouldn't think there are any guarantees though.

 

[Sypher04]

Our forward group looks terrible.

it really doesn’t, but ok

 

[All Mod Cons]

Our forward group looks terrible.

8 bargain bin signings every year doesn't excite you?

 

[cupcrazyman]

8 bargain bin signings every year doesn't excite you?

LOL

 

[justashadowof]

8 bargain bin signings every year doesn't excite you?

You can't blame the GM for that. Oh wait, yes we can and we will.

 

[Gabriel426]

For the most part, I agree, but it all depends where Bunting plays...

Obviously, it wouldn't have continued and maybe my memory is not serving me right, but Thornton put up 10 points in 11 games playing with Marner and Matthews before he got injured. If someone could find his actual statistics for playing with Marner/Matthews, that would be appreciated (not sure where to look), I know Hyman vs Thornton had very little difference when it came to gf%.

If Bunting is on the top line, there is potential for him to be a 40+ pt player just by being stapled to two top 10 players, we can call it the Hyman effect.

Looking at Jumbo’s numbers. Maybe the injury really affected him but I really don’t see why Keefe won’t try Spezza with MM and AM.
As for Bunting, I think putting him with Ritchie and JT might be best case for all three of them. As JT had a history of making players like Bunting and Ritchie to enjoy career seasons.

 

[myleafs]

I agree we don’t need a Hyman replacement on the top line, we need a Hyman improvement.
I do think Kase is the guy if he stays healthy.
As for Bunting, I don’t think he can be a 25G/55pts player but expecting him to be 15G/30pts.

I like Kase but have zero faith that he will stay healthy. Looking at his last concussion, he got tapped gently and he was out all year, came back played 6 min and was out again. 5 concussions and he 25yrs old? yikes.

 

[TML Dynasty]

Looking at Jumbo’s numbers. Maybe the injury really affected him but I really don’t see why Keefe won’t try Spezza with MM and AM.
As for Bunting, I think putting him with Ritchie and JT might be best case for all three of them. As JT had a history of making players like Bunting and Ritchie to enjoy career seasons.

Woah thats a super exciting thought.....leaving the 3 amigos together on the top line. I hope thats at least tried and Keefe isnt stubborn on his forward pairings

 

[Wafflewhipper]

He goes to the net all the pretty hard. That seems to be a good habit he has and not bad hands tipping pucks. Looks like a player hitting his stride later than most.
Tochett continually increased his ice time last year. He earned his trust for some reason. Our defense might not shoot as much as Arizona did so maybe his net front presence might not be as effective through no fault of his own.
I think he replaces some of what hyman did net front absolutely. Not so sure he is going to grind out forchecks and win pucks like Hyman could. Has a good shot,skates well and we’ll see how it translates soon enough. Somebody predicted 15/15 and that would be good production.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Our forward group looks terrible.

The only positive is that Thornton isn’t in it anymore to destroy our PP. Even though, to be perfectly honest, he wasn’t the sole reason it was terrible last year.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

No doubt about it. But the reward for Kase could be a 35 goals scorer next to AM. It is a good gamble.

35 goals? I’d be surprised if he even plays 35 games.

 

[ULF_55]

He goes to the net all the pretty hard. That seems to be a good habit he has and not bad hands tipping pucks. Looks like a player hitting his stride later than most.
Tochett continually increased his ice time last year. He earned his trust for some reason. Our defense might not shoot as much as Arizona did so maybe his net front presence might not be as effective through no fault of his own.
I think he replaces some of what hyman did net front absolutely. Not so sure he is going to grind out forchecks and win pucks like Hyman could. Has a good shot,skates well and we’ll see how it translates soon enough. Somebody predicted 15/15 and that would be good production.

Okay, I watched the highlights, and they are just highlights, but he seem able to pick corners on his shots.
Perhaps with time he'll learn how to do wrap-arounds into the goalie pads!

 

[Stephen]

I wouldn't place the onus of replacing Hyman all onto Bunting. There might be a fair opportunity for him here to start off with, and perhaps a better one if a forward is traded. I wouldn't think there are any guarantees though.

A lot of the onus on replacing Hyman should fall to the Big 4. Often times Hyman stood out because his work ethic seemed so much greater than the typical Leaf forward. If everyone at the top end of the lineup gets a little more hardnosed and more difficult to play with, someone like Bunting can come in with Kase, Ritchie and whomever and do it by committee.

 

[zeke]

What if...playing alongside Matthews and Marner for 20mpg is actually a dream job?

 

[zeke]

Looking at Jumbo’s numbers. Maybe the injury really affected him but I really don’t see why Keefe won’t try Spezza with MM and AM.
As for Bunting, I think putting him with Ritchie and JT might be best case for all three of them. As JT had a history of making players like Bunting and Ritchie to enjoy career seasons.

I mean....Joe did alright with them and Spezzs is clearly better than Joe so.....yes.