Michael Bunting’s replacement was on the ice for the Toronto Maple Leafs overtime winner on Monday night and as a result, Bunting better not play Game 5.
If Sheldon Keefe and the Toronto Maple Leafs think Michael Bunting should play in Game 5, everyone should be get fired. I know that he’s a two-time 20-goal scorer and his feisty attitude and fresh legs could be beneficial to the line-up, but we’ve already seen how detrimental he can be.
His style of play didn’t help in Game 1 and there’s no reason to insert him into the line-up when the Leafs have a three-game winning streak.
After Bunting got kicked out of the game and was ultimately suspended for three games, the Leafs made adjustments which has helped them tremendously. If Bunting never gets suspended, it’s possible that Keefe never makes those adjustments and all of a sudden this series isn’t 3-1 in Toronto’s favor.
Prior to the start of the playoffs, the line-up was pretty much set, except for a debate surrounding three players. Luke Schenn, Timothy Liljegren and Matthew Knies were all on the fence, but Schenn was the only one who cracked the Game 1 line-up.
Many people criticized the decision to start Schenn over Liljegren but after four games that was clearly the best decision. I also agreed that Knies shouldn’t have started Game 1 but now that we’ve seen him in three playoff games, he should never come out of the line-up.
There’s No Place for Bunting in the Toronto Maple Leafs Line-Up
Knies may only have one assist in three games thus far, but his energy and work ethic makes him impossible to take out of the line-up. Playing alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, the three-pack has been everything you’ve wanted out of a third-line.
They’re incredibly hard to play against and are a match-up nightmare as the Leafs now have three deadly lines.
If the Leafs want to insert Bunting into the line-up, I just don’t see where he fits in. Alex Kerfoot, William Nylander and John Tavares all have chemistry playing alongside each other for years, while Calle Jarnkrok looks like a natural fit beside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
You could throw Bunting on the fourth-line if you wanted, but I’m personally loving the combination of Zach Aston-Reese, David Kampf and Sam Lafferty. They’re a fantastic trio who play with an edge and hit everyone in sight, but they don’t cross that edge.
Bunting has shown that his temper is uncontrollable at times and he’s only going to hurt this team more than he’d help them. They don’t need his offensive output right now and have replaced his energy with Knies, who looks like a stud.
As much as Bunting was a steal of a contract and looked great beside Matthews and Marner, he’s living proof that anyone can play with those two players. Unless there’s an injury, it would be in Toronto’s best interest if Bunting never plays another game with this franchise.