Dans le premier match de la série éliminatoire de la LNH entre les Maple Leafs de Toronto et le Lightning de Tampa Bay, c’était encore du déjà-vu pour les fans des Maple Leafs. Michael Bunting a frappé Erik Cernak haut dans la tête avec un coude sale à un moment du match où les Maple Leafs ne pouvaient pas se permettre ce genre de pénalité égoïste. Il a écopé d’une majeure de 5 minutes et d’une pénalité de match et a été expulsé du match. Bunting est un joueur émotif qui joue sur le bord et apporte beaucoup à n’importe quelle équipe. Mais comme Nazim Kadri l’a fait dans le passé, il a peut-être fait beaucoup de mal à l’équipe. Kadri a été suspendu au premier tour des séries éliminatoires consécutives en 2018 et 2019. Les deux fois, les Maple Leafs ont perdu la série contre les Bruins de Boston alors que Kadri a laissé l’équipe à un homme. Le destin de Bunting reste à déterminer, mais laissera-t-il à nouveau les Leafs un homme de la même manière que Kadri? Si oui, Bunting devrait-il faire face à la même conséquence que Kadri et être échangé des Maple Leafs? Je le couvre dans la vidéo de hockey de la LNH d’aujourd’hui !
@Lightning de Tampa Bay
48 Comments
UPDATE Bunting has received a 3 game suspension. Seems pretty harsh to me considering its the playoffs.. what are your thoughts?
Love how they can’t see the puck on that one goal go over the line but also go “ya that’s conclusive evidence right there.”
kadri is not a key asset bum
Bunting sucks and so do the LAFFS !
As a leafs fan… don't give him any ice time. Bunting on the ice is a HUGE favor to Tampa. They will get under his skin on purpose and he has the self control of a teenage child. So….yeah suspend him…bench him… have him fetch the bio steel…. Having him off the ice is a huge favor for the Leafs. If the Leafs were the Titanic Bunting was the iceberg they hit and he sunk that ship in that game. There was no coming back from that 5 min penalty.
Does Bunting not realize that you have 6 more games to extract revenge for perceived wrongs done to you ? It ' s not necessary to retaliate only a short while after being knocked down, especially ially when your team has closed the gap to 1 goal with more than a period left to play. As a result, he made a knucklehead move, got 5 and a game, got a further 3 game suspension, and the opponent put the game out of reach while the original was penalty was being served. This begs the question: a) Is Michael Bunting savvy enough to play on the top line ? and b) Is he even smart enough to play in the NHL? Having a "rat" in your lineup can be a valuable asset, but only if the rat has some savvy plus some situational awareness. Bunting's version of "rat" spells TEAM LIABILITY!!!
This escapade will possibly have a 4 fold repercussion, namely 1) Leafs don't get past first round, 2) Keefe gets fired, 3) Kubas moves back to Sudbury and 4) Shanahan will be free to march in the St. Paddy's Day Parade in Detroit, or any other city of his choosing.
Now watch as Leafs fans use this suspension as the excuse why they lost another first round series.
Bunting is not a pest. A pest is a guy who gets under the other teams skin. Not a guy who grates on everyone with incessant chirping, whining, and complaining. A real pest on the ice is the guy who plays on the line, but knows how to keep the officials and teammates on his side while he does it. Having a legitimate pest on the ice motivates teammates. Bunting's antics keeps his teammates guessing as to what stupid thing he is going to do next. That makes him a net negative to the team and that is why he isn't like a Marchand, or a Theo Fleury back in the day.
Interesting comparison but little bunts is nowhere near the hockey player Kadri is
So dang it sounds like a matter of time till he is in Colorado having a career year.
So from the looks of it every other team is allowed to do the same bullshit every night in the playoffs. But when Toronto’s guy does it it is always a 3 game or more suspension? Along with Wes making the leafs 0-8 in games he’s reffed. Says a lot.
I don't think he targeted the head, he was just being careless because he wanted to send a message. Still stupid, but I don't think that was his intent. The issue I have is his embarrassing reaction after seeing the video. It's plain as day interference at minimum. It's a viscious undisciplined assault and completely unnecessary in reality.
I like Bunting but I don’t think the Leafs can afford to have him in the remainder of this series, it will likely cost the team dearly. Having said that though, I think all of this is as much because of the officiating as it is about Bunting. If Bunting’s high shoulder in this infraction is as egregious as all that, then Bruin’s Nosek’s high elbow on Staal sure as hell better result in at least the same suspension otherwise it’s pretty plain that there is favouritism and targeting going on among NHL officiating and league discipline based on personal likes/dislikes. I hope the Leafs put Mathew Knies in for Bunting and leave Bunts in the press box at least until the Tampa series is, one way or another, completed. Long term, Bunting, Marchand, etc. type players might be dodo birds, it may be that the league isn’t going to tolerate the ‘pesky rat’ role any longer. In their defence, I can see how these role players make the officials jobs a lot harder, but honestly for my part I miss the hockey brand of yesteryear. 2 to 5 years in the future, I’m not sure I’m going to continue to be a fan of this sport I’ve been watching and playing for over 55 years. The politics, the USA, Betman influence has steadily ruined the Canadian game I’ve loved most of my life, … now more often than not it just makes me sick and disgusted to the point where I turn most games off early. RIP good ole hockey game.
Now we won’t get as many penalties for Bunting just existing there! (The only good part)
I can’t believe Bunting was mentioned in the same breath as Mortiz Seider
There is no Buniting. Only ZUUUUUULLLL
How come no-one's talking about the two un-called head-checks to Leafs' players in this SAME GAME before all this happened? The biggest problem here is that the refs are clearly not impartial and the inconsistency that, that creates makes split-second decisions on the ice difficult for players. Considering what wasn't being called in this game (as a trend) up until this point, I support Bunting's play. If I were him in this moment, I might have assumed that Cernak was going to hit me from behind…..so why not be aggressive and pro-active? Bunting's back was turned and the only reason there was contact with Cernak's head was because he was crouching to start a turn. The only reason he was knocked-down was that he wasn't expecting Bunting to stop so abruptly; this happens in every game to every team. Also, the comparisons to Kadri's two similar situations are quite rich. I would agree that those suspensions were dangerous, spiteful and warranted. This one was not.
LMAO laughs
"He was getting under their foreskin".
There's a controversy brewing by Hockey Feed that the reason the Leafs lost was the refereeing by Wes McCauley. That he has is it in for Sheldon Keefe. It goes back a bunch of years to the story of Mike Danton and his relationship with David Frost. Danton ended up in prison for trying to have Frost killed. Well, Frost is Wes McCauley's brother-in-law and Keefe is very good friends with Danton and testified for Danton at his trial years back. Hockey Feed is trying to make it a controversy and calling it corrupt refereeing. Only thing is, how many Leaf games has McCauley officiated since Keefe was coach and nothing ever happened in those games to spark controversy. And how many other Leaf playoff games has McCauley officiated since Keefe became coach and nothing happened. Sounds like Hockey Feed is run by Leaf fans trying to creat a mountain out of a molehill.
Domi –> Kadri –> Bunting
Cirrrrrcle of liiiiife
1:24 should've played the clip
Bunting is gonna be the scapegoat
Its Černák (pronounced Cher-nahk) just like Chara is pronounced h-karka…well as close it can be spelled for pronunciation in English.
God I get tired of leafs whining all the time. The guy never even touched the puck.
He has the self control of a two year old in a melt down. 👋 👋 👋 See ya
2 or 3 games pretty much what he deserves…it was not a "hockey play"…the puck was not in play anywhere near the hit…he left his feet, well at least one foot, he made a clear upward movement with his elbow and shoulder targeting Černák's head…pretty cut and dry for me. Back in the Scott Stevens ,days probably nothing but not anymore.
what a dummy,fits right in with the leafs
If the leafs don't make it EFC bunting will probably not be returning as a leaf.
Bunting will lift the cup with the caps in 2025.
He was fighting for position. 3 game suspension is bullshit. We need more guys like bunting and kadri. Instead of our cuck superstars that vanished yet again
So what does Martin 17 Islanders get?
Every leaf fan got Media notice that Bunting was on the radar of Refs, unfairly being targeted / treated etc. weeks ago
He did what he did, what did JT say after the game?: we knew how the refs would treat the opposition for calls, they are 3x stanley cup finalists? Bye Bunting, you aren't Kardri, altho I loved your effort.
We must face the fact that the leafs and every other Canadian team will never win a cup again. Once you come to terms with it the playoffs can be fun and less stressful imo.
When Kadri got suspended, I was mad because he was a key player but I got to be honest, I’m not mad about buntings suspension cuz he’s coasting us games
Not a Bunting fan, but I will shout this to the roofs, Cernak is a dirty headhunter himself, so no sympathy.
Gogogogoteam
Say what you want about diving, this is downright unacceptable and stupid.
You should look at game 2 bro….
Hello from the evening of April 20th, 2023…. Things get better, don’t worry!
Make a video of how pathetic Tampa played
I support Bunting more tha Kadri; however, both players were victims of sh*tty referrees who developed some sort of aversion to calling penalties on opposing players who committed infractions against both Bunting and Kadri. Tampa may regret getting Bunting kicked because The Leafs are going to be better with Knies than with Bunting. The refs may not be able to turn the game in favour of Tampa as easily as they would with Bunting. Always wonder what it costs to buy a reffing foursome (allegedly) in the NHL playoffs. Only Tampa knows for sure. LOL
Bad call on Bunting, severe suspension as well, lots of examples throughout the playoff of worse behavior (Nosek hit so Staal poor exaplo)
Leafs are better without him
I think Bunting is a really fun Leaf to watch, he can be volatile in a really entertaining way. That hit was pretty stupid though and I hope he doesn't let it get to that level again but I really hope he stays with the Leafs for a bit.
Keefe is like a parent that does not want to see what everyone else sees. Bunting is no top 6 forward and he has to stop screaming at refs.
Who cares it’s the leafs lol
Wrong — Bunting did NOT step over a line at all — the hit to the head was because Cernak had his head too damn low (because he wasnt paying attention) NOT a suspension at all