Closing the book on Hyman vs Bunting; a tale of two seasons

Michael Bunting has stepped into Zach Hyman's shoes admirably in his rookie year. He has filled a role that many expected the likes of Nick Ritchie or Nick Robertson to fill this year, surpassing the expectations of Leafs' fans everywhere.

Michael Bunting, in 79 games this year, has scored 23 goals and added 40 assists for a total of 63 points. He has the rookie points lead, and is tied with Ducks' rookie Trevor Zegras at 23 goals. He plays an aggressive, agitating style that gets under opponents' skin and possesses a dynamic offensive skill to go along with it. He is a skilled, hard working, hometown pest that has very quickly made himself a fan favourite.

He is currently sidelined by injury and is a question mark for game 1 of the playoffs. However, he has played most of his time beside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner after dropping down to the 4th line early in the season.

Zach Hyman departed for the Edmonton Oilers in the summer, a move that broke the hearts of everyone who loved his heart and soul style of play. Zach was a staple beside Auston during his time here, scoring 239 points in a total of 345 games in a Leaf uniform. He never scored more than 21 goals in a season. However it should be noted that he scored 21 goals in 51 games and 15 in 43 games, both of which were seasons cut short by Covid.

This year with the Oilers, Zach Hyman has scored 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points in 75 games. He has played with all 3 Oilers centres and is currently on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto going into the playoffs.

Both players have scored at a similar pace, however Bunting's $900k cap hit is invaluable to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Zach Hyman's $5.5 million cap would simply not have fit on the Leafs this year. Who do you think has had a better year?

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