Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting nominated for Calder Trophy as NHL’s rookie of the year

Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting is one of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.

The 26-year-old Bunting led all rookies with 23 goals, 40 assists for 63 points in 79 games. It’s the third best total by a Leaf rookie behind Auston Matthews (40 goals, 29 assists in 2016-17) and Peter Ihnacak (28 goals, 38 assists in 1982-83).

Matthews won the Calder in 2017 and is expected to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy as MVP when those nominees are announced Thursday.

Bunting, a Scarborough native, was a 2014 fourth-round pick (117th overall) by Arizona, who signed with the Maple Leafs in July. He had 14 multi-point performances, his second career hat trick Jan. 29 and a career-high four assists and a goal on Feb. 26 at Detroit.

Bunting is seeking to become the 11th player in franchise history to capture the Calder Trophy and just the second to do so in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68).

Bunting just fit under the age limit for Calder nominees. Players under 26 before Sept. 15, 2021 were eligible. He turned 26 on Sept. 17.

He also fit under the wire in terms of games played. A player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. Bunting played 21 games for the Coyotes in 2020-21, and five games in 2019-20.

Bunting’s competition for the award is Red Wings defenceman Moritz Seider, who led all defencemen with 50 points, and Anaheim’s flashy forward Trevor Zegras, whose lacrosse-style goals energized fans. He was second to Bunting with 23 goals, 38 assists for 61 points.

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