Michael Bunting wasn’t your average NHL rookie in 2021-22 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Never mind that the gritty forward was already 26 at the time, he’d also played a handful of games in the NHL while shuttling between the Arizona Coyotes and their minor-league affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, in two previous seasons — 26 games.
That number — both his age and his number of games played — put him just inside the NHL threshold for eligibility, thus allowing him into a group of rookie-of-the-year finalists that included 21-year-olds Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks and Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings.
Perhaps his age worked against him when Seider — a puck-moving defender who finished with 50 points in 82 games — beat him out for the Calder Trophy. Bunting finished that season with 63 points — 23 goals and 40 assists — and was a plus-27 in 79 games played. (Zegras had 61 points, but was a minus-21 on a struggling Anaheim team.)
Instead of looking on that as a negative, Bunting turned it around: At least he was being considered at all. He’d made it to the NHL, and found success.
“I spent almost six years in the minors before I even got a shot at the NHL, so I’ve always had that hunger to make the next step,” Bunting, now with the Carolina Hurricanes, said during a media availability Monday. “I feel like the last two years, I was able to show in Toronto that I belong. I have produced and I play on that edge.”
Bunting followed his near-Calder win with another 23-goal season, and entered free agency with leverage for the first time in his career. He parlayed that into a three-year deal with the Canes, worth $13.5 million, or $4.5 million per season.
“Going into Toronto, it was kind of my first taste of the NHL,” Bunting said. “I just kind of had the attitude that I belonged and I had something to prove. I just kept on building off that momentum, the more comfortable I got with my game, the more confidence I had to play in this league.”
Bunting had no shortage of suitors, given he plays not only a fast-paced, end-to-end style, but also has a sandpaper quality to his game.
“To win hockey games, unless the rules change this summer, you’ve got to score more goals than the other team, and so when you go out and spend, in this case, 13-and-a-half million dollars on a player, you want to make sure you get a player who can contribute offensively,” Canes president and GM Don Waddell said Saturday. “(Bunting) just has that extra knack, the way he plays. That’s something we definitely wanted, that (coach) Rod (Brind’Amour) wanted, so it was a bonus to be able to get that kind of player.”
“I think I can bring that energy every single night no matter what line I’m on,” Bunting said, agreeing with Waddell. “I think I can bring that energy, bring my skill set to be able to move the puck and get to the hard areas. That’s where I excel the most, kind of in front of the net, in the corners and distributing the puck but also being able to put it in as well.”
Bunting also confirmed something about which Waddell was proud Saturday, when he said that the Canes “used to have to chase players, overpay players.”
“We’ve become a destination place,” Waddell said. “We’re getting those calls first, as some teams are, and it’s nice to be in a position to make our team better.”
Said Bunting: “It’s a beautiful area, it’s a hockey town. I always found it was really hard to play in that rink as a visiting team, it was just so loud. The Hurricanes built off their momentum just from the fans, so I’m really excited being on the opposite side.”
Bunting has skated in 187 career NHL games with Arizona and Toronto since debuting with the Coyotes in 2018-19, earning 57 goals and 126 points. He also recorded 85 goals and 205 points in 323 career American Hockey League games with Springfield and Tucson from 2015-21, serving as an alternate captain with the Roadrunners in 2020-21.. He also won a gold medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
With a new contract in tow, Bunting is optimistic his best days are still ahead of him.
“I’ve stepped into this next contract and I’ve set myself up for the future, but I also have to have that same mentality of, ‘You can’t take it for granted,’” Bunting said. “It’s taken me a long time to get here, and I can’t think the work’s done now, I have to keep pushing on the gas and keep proving I belong, because the second I take things for granted, I could lose it.”
Hurricane trade winds blowing?
One of the more interesting items to come from the weekend — beyond the Canes’ multiple big-name signings — was the intimation that more movement is likely on the horizon.
That’s thanks to the team’s available salary cap space, Waddell said.
“Cap space, cap space is like gold,” Waddell said. “Last year we were able to get (Max) Pacioretty, who got injured, and (Brent) Burns because we had cap space. Orlov and Bunting, all they cost us was cap space, we didn’t have to give up any assets to get them. If you don’t have the cap space, you can’t add the players.”
Waddell also hinted that, while the Canes are likely done making big free agent splashes in the NHL pool, the trade winds could be churning the waters.
“As you add good pieces, you always say, ‘Well, how are you going to make it fit?’” Waddell said. “We have a lot going on this year with contracts, and other things, and potential opportunities for trades still. The good thing is, it’s July 1st, not opening night October 10 or 11, so we have some time to figure this out.“
