Maple Leafs' React to Michael Bunting's 3-Game Suspension: 'I Don't Have An Issue Trusting Him'
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe threw his support behind Michael Bunting when asked if he could trust the forward on the ice when his suspension concludes.
Michael Bunting skated on the ice and did all the work that comes with being a scratch ahead of a game night.
Such is life when you aren't permitted to play.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs forward was handed a three-game suspension by the NHL for his illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak.
Bunting will miss Thursday's Game 2 against the Lightning in addition to Games 3 and 4. But what about Game 5 (if there is one?)
The Maple Leafs fell to the Lightning 7-3 in the opening game of their best-of-seven series on Tuesday. Given the lack of discipline in the play from Bunting, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said it hasn't affected his trust in using the forward.
"I know Michael Bunting as well as anyone so I don't have an issue in terms of trusting him when it comes to that," Keefe said of Bunting. "He has no history of such things."
Bunting and Keefe have had quite the season together. In March, the two were engaged in conversations on the bench with Bunting seemingly looking away from the head coach during the interaction. Both the player and coach dismissed this as being anything and Keefe has continuously stood up for his player while he was under the microscope of officials over instances of embellishment.
“He eats three cross-checks, and he ends up taken to the box with it. He had four or five punches to the face in the scrum, and he ends up with a 10-minute misconduct," Keefe said over one particular instant earlier this month in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 27-year-old Bunting played in all 82 regular season games for the first time in his NHL career. He scored 23 goals and added 26 assists. After solidifying himself on the first line with star forward Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Bunting struggled at times and bounced throughout the lineup before re-emerging on the top line for Game 1.
Calle Jarnkrok, who has also performed well with Matthews late in the season, will move into Bunting's spot in the lineup, while Matthew Knies will make his NHL playoffs debut on the third line with veteran forward Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari.
Bunting's ability to agitate his opponents while getting to the net was his strongest asset, something the Maple Leafs will now have to look into replacing by committee.
"He brings an element to our team that not many guys bring," Maple Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot said of Bunting. "He's been a staple in our lineup and really fits in well with those top-2 guys. We're going to miss him and other guys need to step up."
Comparisons to Nazem Kadri and the former Leafs forward hilariously weighs in
Bunting's three-game suspension has drawn comparisons to Nazem Kadri, who was a similar type of forward (although he played center) that let his temper get the better of him.
After two consecutive playoff suspensions, the Maple Leafs decided to move on from Kadri by trading him to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019.
Kadri, who famously told Hockey Night in Canada last summer that anyone who felt he was a liability in the playoffs could "kiss my ass" continued to poke fun by quote-tweeting a comparison between himself and Bunting made by TSN.
After being suspended on three different occasions during the playoffs, Kadri became an instrumental part of the Colorado Avalanche's 2022 Stanley Cup victory.
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