Ex-Maple Leafs Winger Michael Bunting May Be Wearing Out his Welcome in Pittsburgh

Bunting's tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs had many highs but brought about a lot of lows as well. He had a fantastic rookie season playing alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but was unable to match that production the following season. The coup de grace came in the form of his suspension in the playoffs and the Maple Leafs allowed him to walk into free agency.

That same summer, Kyle Dubas was also a free agent, so to speak, and he was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins. It wasn't long before the former Leafs general manager set up a reunion of sorts and traded for Bunting's services from the Carolina Hurricanes in a blockbuster package that involved Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline.

Bunting had a great finish to the season with 6 goals and 19 points in 21 games and formed solid chemistry with Penguins superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Unfortunately, he's been unable to rediscover that magic this season and has just 1 assist in 6 contests while averaging almost 15 minutes a night.

With Bunting scratched, the Penguins dropped their contest against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday by a score of 6-3. They've started the season 3-4-0 and have altered their lineup on multiple occasions, looking for a spark to get their stars rolling. Rutger McGroarty was even sent down to the minors earlier in the week after his slow start to the season.

Considering Dubas is at the helm, it seems inconceivable that he would let go of Bunting, considering their track record. However, it's not just his relationship with Dubas that may help him stay in Pittsburgh... his cap hit will assuredly make a move improbable as well. The Hurricanes signed Bunting to a 3-year deal worth $4.5 million dollars per season and he still has another year left on his contract.

It's certainly a situation to monitor moving forward with the Penguins desperately trying to keep their championship window open for as long as possible. Everyone becomes expendable with Crosby and Malkin near the end of their careers, including Bunting despite his strong finish to the 2023-24 season.