Michael Bunting — the Toronto Maple Leafs’ overnight pre-season phenom — had his rinkside interview interrupted Wednesday when teammate Kurtis Gabriel walked into the frame and barked that compliment in his ear.
Bunting later admitted the KG camera bomb startled him:
Bunting’s projected opening night centreman, John Tavares, chuckled at the scene.
“I like to dress it up a little more,” Tavares smiled.
Then the captain broke down the hockey benefits of employing a “greasy rat” like Scarborough’s finest.
Extremely determined. Great awareness on the ice. Knows how to complement elite players. Finds a way to make an impact on the game. Good hands and perfect timing.
“He’s been kind of a late bloomer,” Tavares went on. “Someone who’s had to prove a lot of people wrong and just always had that attitude of finding a way.”
The Bunting Way is to impress enough in his minutes during exhibition that he’s snatched up a top-six role like a rat does cheese.
The Calder-eligible 26-year-old (wink) scored last Saturday in his first dress rehearsal as a Leaf, erupted for a hat trick in Ottawa Wednesday, then deflected the game-winner off a David Kämpf pass in Friday’s Blue vs. White exhibition at Scotiabank Arena.
All Bunting does is score, apparently. And crawl under his opponents’ skin.
“He certainly is a guy that makes no friends on the ice,” says coach Sheldon Keefe, a fan of Bunting’s since he had him in the Soo.
“Just in terms of the hunger and the competitiveness he has around the net, because he’s always looking to get an edge on you. I’m really happy that he’s gotten the results that he’s gotten here in the first two games. It allows his confidence to grow, allows him to settle in here with us.”
The edge that the left winger has carried from AA minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Hockey League to a stint in the ECHL to a little UFA bidding war in his mid-20s, Bunting says it’s how he forces himself into the game.
“Getting the other team after me or to get in their head, I feel like that’s when I’m playing my best. When they’re chasing after me and not worried about the game, that helps us out. So, I don’t mind playing that role,” Bunting said.
“The road I took to get here isn’t the normal one everybody takes, so I take pride in that and I (embrace) it every day. You can’t take this thing for granted; it can go just as fast as it can come. You appreciate it a little bit more (because) it did take a little bit for me to get here. It has been a grind.”
The new grinder has bonded with veteran Wayne Simmonds over their similar paths to the show — “Scarborough sticks together,” Simmonds asserts of the mindset in the eastern part of Toronto — and he rhymes off Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Wendel Clark as boyhood role models.
“He’s just got a chip on his shoulder, in terms of how he’s how he’s come up through the hockey ranks,” Keefe said. “He plays with a lot to prove every night and he’s out there to try to make the best of every opportunity he can. And I like those qualities about him. That’s what I think makes you believe a player like him always has a chance, and here he is in the NHL.
“Those are the kind of guys you don’t want to bet against.”
My best guess at Toronto’s Opening Night lineup
Health willing, of course…
Offence
Ritchie–Matthews–Marner
Bunting–Tavares–Nylander
Mikheyev–Kämpf–Kase
Spezza–Kerfoot–Simmonds
Defence
Rielly–Brodie
Muzzin–Holl
Sandin–Dermott
Goalie
Campbell
Mrazek
Power-Play Units
Rielly
Matthews–Marner–Nylander
Tavares
—
Sandin
Spezza–Bunting–Kase
Ritchie
Keefe extension kept hush-hush
Curious that the Maple Leafs did not announce head coach Sheldon Keefe’s two-year contract extension when it was signed.
Appearing on Tim & Friends Friday, GM Kyle Dubas confirmed that the deal was signed off on early in the summer, yet news didn’t make the rounds until Thursday night — hours before Keefe’s starring turn in Amazon’s All or Nothing series.
“Whenever there’s a big disappointment we encounter, that always brings out the best in him as a coach,” Dubas said of Keefe. “He’s a person that thrives in situations like this.
“It’s a great thing for our organization.”
So why no official announcement?
“That’s not my department,” Keefe replied Friday night.
“It’s great for my family, of course. But it hasn’t changed anything in terms of my approach or anything like that. If anything, it just allows me to do my job as best I can without any other distractions.”
Matthews progressing just fine
Matthews’ recovering wrist is progressing well, and the star centre participated in three half-practices with linemates this week.
That said, he’s not yet ready for contact. If he squeezes into an exhibition game, it’ll be Toronto’s final one, Oct. 9 at home to Ottawa. That’s intended to be the dress rehearsal for the real NHL group.
“It’s about building up the strength in the wrist to the point that he’s confident in receiving passes, leaning into shots, and of course (taking) faceoffs and contact. The fact we’ve seen him out every single day with no setbacks is a good thing,” Keefe said.
New guy Nick Ritchie appears to have drawn the long straw in camp. The bruising left winger says he’s never skated with a duo as dynamic as Marner and Matthews.
“These are some of the most skilled guys in the league, and it’s cool to get to be on the same ice as them and learn things from them,” Ritchie said.
While the first talking point with Ritchie is his sturdy frame (six-foot-three, 236 pounds) and bruising style of play, his coach sees another reason for inserting him alongside his most productive forwards.
“You’re going to be surprised with how good his hands are, how good his shot is, how good he is at making plays in tight spaces,” Keefe said.
Marner approves crackdown on cross-checking
For years, the Maple Leafs have had a difficult time drawing penalties. Last season, the club ranked just 26th overall in the category, drawing 3.08 penalties per 60 minutes.
Not good enough for a group that is supposed to put away opponents on the power play.
It will be interesting to see if the NHL’s stricter enforcement of cross-checking either (a) gives the Leafs more confidence driving to the net or (b) results in a few more power plays.
Mitch Marner is a fan.
“Yeah, I think it’s good. It should be fair. You go into a corner, you don’t need to have a guy just abusing your back with crosschecks, so I think it should be a penalty,” Marner said.
“Also, net-front-wise, I think it’s dangerous. Guys are strong and can stand on their skates, but if a guy crosschecks you while you’re leaning over trying to tip a puck, you’re not going to stay up on your feet every single time that happens. So you’ve seen people eating pucks in the back of the neck, heads and stuff like that. The league thought it was a thing they needed to change, so we’ll see how it goes.”
One-Timers: Expect significant cuts to Toronto’s bloated camp roster after its preseason back-to-back Monday and Tuesday . If you noticed white Band-Aids pasted to Leafs’ foreheads during Friday’s Blue vs. White game, there’s a reason. Those absorbant patches are being used by the Leafs for sweat and hydration analysis during camp. Sports science! … Toronto signed undrafted free-agent forward Braeden Kressler to a three-year entry level contract Friday evening. Kressler put up nine goals and 18 points in 46 games for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds in 2019-20 but did not play in 2020-21 due to the pandemic . Defence prospect Teemu Kivihalme, 26, was placed on waivers Friday; he’s eligible to be claimed before 2 p.m. ET Saturday…. Do the Maple Leafs offer Josh Ho-Sang (PTO) an AHL contract in order to avoid the waiver wire with a talent who has impressed at camp?
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
