Michael Bunting's Fiesty Antics Have Continued in Carolina

Before coming to Toronto, Michael Bunting was a gritty forward who was fighting to make a name for himself in the NHL. After establishing himself in Arizona, the Leafs were able to pick him up for a reasonable $995,000 AAV, and he immediately outperformed his contract.

Bunting had 112 points in 161 games with the Leafs, 46 of those being goals. He had great chemistry with Auston Matthews, as the two had complimentary playing styles. Bunting was notorious for working in the dirty areas, freeing pucks up for Matthews to finesse into the back of the net.

Bunting wasn't just a workhorse forward, he also played the instigator role, and he did it quite well. For his first few seasons in Toronto, he was able to successfully draw penalties by annoying opposing players to the point of frustration. However, this didn't last long.

After the referees figured out that Bunting was gaming the system, they started to call him out for his actions. His reputation quickly slid downhill with nearly every ref in the league.

It appears that Bunting's reputation has followed him to Carolina, as he took 3 penalties in his preseason game on Friday. Rod Brind'Amour and the Hurricanes would likely hope for him to stay out of the box, as Bunting has been performing well for the Hurricanes when he is on the ice.

As seen on Hockey Patrol - "Michael Bunting's Reputation Hasn't Changed After Latest Preseason Game"