The Toronto Maple Leafs may already have a name sitting right in front of them as they try to give Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko the right kind of support on the top line.
To open the season, Toronto has slotted Jack Roslovic on the right wing with Matthews and Marchenko. Roslovic is a solid player, but the group is still being viewed as short on the extra punch it may need. One person even pointed out on social media that the Leafs need more than skill there - they need a gritty forward who can chase pucks and make plays.
That description fits Michael Bunting pretty cleanly.
A former Maple Leafs player, Bunting is currently available as a free agent and already has a track record of working in Toronto. He has shown chemistry in a Leafs uniform before, and that alone makes him an obvious fit for a team looking for a ready-made answer.
Bunting’s numbers also make the case. He has 252 points in 418 NHL games, including 109 goals, and he’s the kind of player who tends to do his best work when he’s skating alongside strong talent. During his time with the Maple Leafs, he reached a career-high 63 points, which is a pretty clear sign of what he can do when the situation is right.
The financial side may not be a problem, either. On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs placed Max Domi and Dakota Joshua on LTIR, which opened up $7 million in cap space. Given Bunting’s current free-agent status, it stands to reason he could be available at a discount, giving Toronto room to make the move.
John Chayka could make a real splash by signing a guy like Bunting, and it would bring back some of the feel this roster seems to be missing right now.
There’s still plenty for Toronto to sort out early in the season, especially on defense and in terms of offensive chemistry. But Bunting is the kind of player who could help this team in a meaningful way.
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