Surprisingly though, the team opted to let him walk in free agency, despite the impressive performances over the past two years, as he put up 112 points over 161 games.
Now, he finds himself in Carolina as a key member of the Hurricanes forward group, but as we've come to know, all of that talent is accompanied by the need to be a pest to opposing players.
According to a report from Hurricanes camp, Bunting has engaged in his second heated confrontation with Brendan Lemieux over camp, with both refusing to back down as they show their fire ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The two players have had a history together, as they confronted each other on the ice while with Toronto and Los Angeles, but this is commonplace in training camp, so it appears they'll be fine and ready to go together when the regular season begins.
As Read on Hockey Patrol - Former Leaf Already Making Enemies on His New Team
POLL | ||
25 SEPTEMBRE | 26 ANSWERS Former Maple Leaf making new enemies in Carolina Can Bunting score 75 points or more with the Hurricanes in 2023-24? | ||
Yes | 10 | 38.5 % |
No | 16 | 61.5 % |
List of polls |