Michael Bunting is still sitting on the market as the 2026-27 season approaches, and that lingering availability has put a familiar Maple Leafs reunion right back in the conversation.
Toronto has already worked to bolster its attack by bringing in Jack Roslovic to give Auston Matthews another known presence. Even so, the search for more scoring help is not over.
Vladimir Tarasenko remains unsigned, Patrik Laine does too, and both bring proven finishing ability. The problem is simple: without a contract in place, there’s no chance for either player to build chemistry with the group before the season starts.
Bunting, though, is a different kind of fit.
The 30-year-old remains unsigned, and the lack of interest is hard to square with what he still offers. He can chip in 15-20 goals, help on the power play, move around the lineup as needed, and he already knows how to produce alongside Matthews. That matters in Toronto, where familiarity and trust can make all the difference.
His work with Matthews was especially effective. Together, they posted a 73.3 GF% rate and a 30.06 xGF with an above-average CF%.
Mitch Marner deserves plenty of credit for that line as well, but Bunting’s value was never hard to spot. He hunted pucks, created chaos, and often found Matthews when defenders collapsed around him.
Toronto got Bunting’s best seasons, and the numbers back that up. Over two years with the club, he put up 112 points in 161 games and finished with a plus-48. That kind of production is exactly why a reunion keeps making sense.
The catch, as always, is money.
Bunting probably would not require a major commitment, and a deal similar to the one Logan Stanley recently signed for $1.5M would be the kind of number Toronto could stomach. But even a modest contract has ripple effects. The Maple Leafs are also trying to bring in Nick Blankenburg off his PTO, and that would take up more cap room.
On top of that, Toronto would likely need to shuffle players between the NHL and AHL just to stay compliant. Max Domi is expected to go on LTIR, and Dakota Joshua could also end up there to begin the year.
If that happens, the Leafs would have enough flexibility to bring Bunting back and sort out what to do with Joshua. With the additions already made to the bottom-six, Joshua has become expendable in the same way Steven Lorentz did.
So the fit is obvious. Toronto knows exactly what Bunting brings, and Bunting has already shown he can thrive there. The only real question is whether the Leafs can make the math work.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Face One Costly Marchenko Question
Kirill Marchenkos future in Columbus has suddenly become a topic of real interest around the league, and Toronto is among the clubs being mentioned as a possible landing spot. The Blue Jackets forward has publicly requested a trade, even while reporting to training camp, which has only added to the intrigue for teams looking for scoring help. For the Maple Leafs, it is the sort of situation that naturally invites debate, because Marchenkos talent would fit into a market that is always searching for more offense.
The harder part for Toronto is the price. Any serious pursuit would almost certainly force the Maple Leafs to weigh young pieces such as Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, Harry Nansi, and Matthew Knies, the kind of names that make any trade conversation uncomfortable in a hurry. That is the tension now: Marchenko could give Toronto a useful boost, but only if the Leafs are willing to pay a cost that changes the calculus of what kind of deal makes sense for the present and the future. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Have A Chance To Create A Family Story Fans Will Love
The Rangers are putting Taylor Raddysh on waivers, and that gives the Maple Leafs a small but intriguing opening as roster decisions start to come into focus. Toronto has not made a waiver claim yet this offseason, but with those calls approaching, this is the kind of low-risk move teams around the league have to weigh carefully.
For the Leafs, the appeal goes beyond the depth chart. Taylor is the brother of Toronto player Darren Raddysh, which means a claim would create a family tie that fans would instantly latch onto. It is the sort of feel-good angle that can make a mundane transaction a little more interesting, even if the final decision still comes down to how the Leafs want to handle the rest of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Former Leafs Just Landed In A Spot Toronto Can't Really Use
Several former Maple Leafs are among the names who surfaced on waivers as NHL clubs move to finalize their rosters ahead of the 2026-27 season deadline, a familiar point in the calendar when depth pieces start bouncing around the league. Steven Lorentz, Philippe Myers, Calle Rosen, Ilya Samsonov, Sam Lafferty, Henry Thrun and Sammy Blais are all in that group, giving teams 24 hours to decide whether they want to make a claim before those players are sent to their AHL affiliates.
For Toronto, the timing makes the whole thing more interesting but not especially practical. The Maple Leafs have limited roster and cap space after their recent signings, which means even a player with a familiar face or a useful fit has to clear more than just a quick look from the hockey ops staff. It is the kind of waiver window that can create a lot of noise around former Leafs, even when the path back to Toronto is harder than it looks. [Read more 🡒]