NHL Network analysts show lack of Leafs knowledge on live broadcast, claim that the Leafs will lose key UFA next summer
The NHL Network is an American program, so I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised when they completely embarrass themselves when talking about the Leafs - or about hockey in general for that matter. Such was the case when Jamison Coyle and Steve Konroyd addressed the status of Leafs winger Michael Bunting on Monday morning.
They started out by stating that there wasn't "enough pie to go around" in Toronto, despite the fact that the Leafs remain one of the most financially flexible teams in the NHL, containing perhaps only one truly unmovable contract in John Tavares (full NMC).
Next, they compared Bunting's situation to that of Zach Hyman. Now, while the fact that they will have both had the chance to walk away via free agency is similar, there's almost nothing else similar about them. Bunting is 26, turning 27. Hyman was turning 30. Bunting has just 105 NHL games to his credit. Hyman has 421.
The Leafs were never going to commit the type of money to Hyman that he was looking for at that age, especially given his injury history. Bunting is much younger and already has a 60-point season under his belt. However, due to his level of experience being lower, I'd imagine that so too will his AAV be lower. Let's also not ignore the fact that Bunting left money on the table to sign in Toronto as a UFA once. He may very well be willing to do so again.
How did they follow that up? Well, they stated on the program that Bunting was 25 years old when he finished as a Calder Trophy Finalist. It was a widely known and highly controversial talking piece that Bunting was in the Calder race at 26 years of age last season.
They capped it all off by calling Bunting a guy with "good size" and "half decent speed". Michael Bunting is 5'11, 186 lbs. (6 feet depending on which bio you look at).. I don't know about you, but I'm not quite sure 5'11 qualifies as "good size" in a league where the average height and weight is 6'1 and 199.3 lbs. I'd say that qualifies as below average.
So if they can't get any of the peripheral information correct, are we really supposed to believe that the Leafs are up against it when it comes to re-signing Michael Bunting? If the team views him as an important piece who is worth hanging onto, I think Kyle Dubas and Brandon Pridham will find a way to do just that. They've shown, time and time again, the ability to make the pieces fit. With Hyman, I think they just looked at the cap hit he was requesting vs the output he was capable of and the miles left on him. It wasn't worth a 7-year deal at $5.5M per season.
Bunting may have a case for a similar contract, but even then, how convinced are we that a guy with that little experience, who didn't break into the league until very late, wouldn't just accept a 5x4M deal and take his $20M to the bank and be happy with it? Especially a Scarborough kid who already left money on the table once to sign here.
Call me crazy, but I'm going to chalk this one up to the NHL Network trying to boost their ratings during the dog days of summer.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 29 | 347 ANSWERS NHL Network analysts show lack of Leafs knowledge on live broadcast, claim that the Leafs will lose key UFA next summer Will the Leafs find a way to extend Michael Bunting? | ||
| Yes | 276 | 79.5 % |
| No | 71 | 20.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
