An interesting comparable for Bunting's next contract; a former Leafs draft pick who was also a late-bloomer

This past season marked his "rookie" season at 26 years old and he made the most of his opportunity, skating alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Bunting led all rookies in points with 63 (23G, 40A) and finished third in Calder Trophy voting. He will be eligible to sign an extension with the Leafs on July 13th and surely the Leafs will explore an extension with him at some point this summer.

For the Leafs, it would be best to sign him to an extension as soon as possible. Why you ask? To avoid the risk of Bunting putting up another 60+ point season and pricing himself out of Toronto the same way Zack Hyman did and the same way Ilya Mikheyev looks to have done.

While the Leafs may have to pay Bunting in excess of $3.5M per season if they signed him now they, would also save themselves $1M-$2M and possibly more next off-season by getting a deal done now. Sure, it is possible that Bunting's rookie season is a one-off, but playing with Matthews and Marner and showing brilliant chemistry as a trio, that is highly unlikely. Even if it is, he can still be an effective 40-50 point player and brings a wealth of intangibles that the Leafs need more of. There's an argument to be made that he's worth more to the team than a guy like Alexander Kerfoot, who already makes $3.5M.

Of course, Bunting has the option to bet on himself this season and put a hold on any extension talks until next offseason or even walk as a UFA to cash in on a big deal. A comparable to Bunting's progression is Florida's Carter Verhaeghe.

Verhaeghe also took a long time to finally find a permanent spot in the NHL. Coming off of an 18-goal, 36 point season in 2020/21, Verhaeghe signed a 3 year extension with Florida with an AAV of $4.16M. Verhaeghe is the same age as Bunting but at the time of his extension already had 2 full seasons under his belt and was entering the final season of a 2-year deal that paid him $1M per season.

The off-season for the Leafs will be an intriguing and busy one given the roster turnover that is expected, but it would be wise to include extension talks with Bunting to gain some cost certainty going forward. That is, unless Bunting and his camp are amenable to negotiating in-season.