Insider points to two pending UFAs in Toronto who are more likely to go to the open market
With the Leafs having 20 UFAs and RFAs still without contracts in the 17 days leading up to free agency, I think everyone in Leafs Nation is prepared for the team to lose some guys that they'd otherwise love to have the Leafs bring back. It's just the nature of the business in a hard salary cap world.
Two of the names who have garnered the most attention among the current crop of pending UFAs in Toronto are Ryan O'Reilly and Michael Bunting. Both players have seen their time in the top six and both have had looks in the bottom six this year as well. I think, in a perfect world, the Leafs would be able to find a way to retain both of them. Unfortunately, with the salary cap being what it is, there are cap casualties every year. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli touched on both O'Reilly and Bunting's futures on Thursday during an appearance on Leafs Morning Take. Here's what he had to say about O'Reilly and Bunting.
Michael Bunting - I think they'd [like to], they just can't afford it. He's sort of the next Zach Hyman." - Seravalli on O'Reilly and Bunting's likelihood of going to market on July 1st
The one thing that the Leafs have going for them here is that both guys are hometown products and, by all accounts, both have loved their time in Toronto. If either player would be willing to take less to sign anywhere, it would be with the Leafs. Only time will tell if there's a deal to be had here for either player.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 15 | 381 ANSWERS Insider points to two pending UFAs in Toronto who are more likely to go to the open market If you could only keep one of these two forwards in Toronto, who would it be; Michael Bunting or Ryan O'Reilly? | ||
| Bunting | 31 | 8.1 % |
| O'Reilly | 318 | 83.5 % |
| Neither | 32 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
