Former Maple Leaf Michael Bunting is in ‘wait and see’ mode as free agency looms
The experience of becoming an unrestricted free agent, at any point in your career, is a time of excitement and nervousness as a decision is made on where a player might spend a large portion of his career.
The 30-year-old is just completing the original three-year, $13.5 million contract he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2023, following his tenure in Toronto. Over the three years, Bunting spent time in Carolina, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Dallas, and could cash in this summer due to the salary cap rising and a thin free-agent class.
“I haven’t really thought about it [free agency] much to be honest. I just got back to Toronto, so I’m trying to spend as much time with my family, friends, and I’m busy being a dad,” Bunting said. “That being said, I don’t really know what’s in my cards right now, I’m just kind of waiting and seeing what happens with Dallas here. Obviously, I ended the year with them, and I’m coming off really positive talks with Jim [Jim Nill] and Gully [Glen Gulutzan] at my end-of-year meetings, so just waiting to hear from them and see where things go.”
Bunting, a Scarborough, Ontario native, donned the Maple Leafs sweater for two seasons and put together the best offensive output of his career during his first campaign with the club. Over the course of the 2012-22 season, Bunting totalled 23 goals and 40 assists, finishing sixth on the club with 63 points.
“That was a lot of fun. I came to Toronto just excited to put that jersey on every single night, and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with me. I was coming off a season where I think I played 20 games [21] in Arizona, and then I signed in Toronto, so I just grinded to earn a spot and fortunately ended up on the first line,” Bunting said. “I felt like I complimented them really well and all three of us loved to play together. We were great friends off the ice, so that made it a little easier to play on the ice. It was definitely a lot of fun to put on that sweater every night as a hometown boy growing up in Scarborough, definitely a dream come true.”
Marner is now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights and is in the midst of one of the best stretches during his professional playoff career. The 29-year-old has recorded a playoff-leading 21 points over 16 games and will play in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his career.
“They’re [Vegas] playing really well, and obviously Mitchy [Marner] is having an unbelievable playoff. I’m a big fan of Mitchy. He was one of my closest friends in Toronto, and still a really good buddy that I keep in touch with a lot,” Bunting said. “It’s great to see him doing well, and everyone knows the skill set he has, how elite of a player he is, and he’s really shown it during these playoffs. It just seems like every time he touches the puck, he’s creating something.”
Sponsored by bet365