Nothing is official, but it certainly feels like a case of Deja vu and that another forward who teeters on the edge with their style of hockey might be on his way out of Toronto.
After learning that Michael Bunting has been suspended for three games for his hit on Erik Cernak, fans of the team and multiple members of the media who cover the Toronto Maple Leafs are lining up to take shots at Bunting and share their frustration with the forward. More than a few have suggested his lack of self-awareness and self-control is costing the organization. Former Sportsnet analyst Sid Seixeiro said, “He’ll never play for the Leafs again”, while Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne talked about his needing a babysitter or someone in his ear from the organization. They noted, “It has been a big struggle for Michael Bunting finding his place.”
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In many cases, analysts who are looking at Bunting’s style of play are comparing him to a former Maple Leafs’ forward, Nazem Kadri.
Revisiting What Happened With Nazem Kadri
Kadri’s time in Toronto was marred by a series of suspensions in the playoffs that many believe contributed to the Leafs’ failure to win more than one playoff series. He was eventually run out of town and while hindsight is 20/20 and it’s a move some in Leafs Nation probably wish the organization could take back, early signs are that history might be repeating itself.
In April of 2019, Kadri was playing third-line center for the Leafs and was suspended for the remainder of the first round for delivering a dangerous cross-check to the head of Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk. Kadri was also suspended during the 2018 Leafs-Bruins series for a high hit on Tommy Wingels. In that instance, he was suspended for three games. By the time he was eventually traded, Kadri had been suspended four times by the NHL Department of Player Safety and his reputation followed him out of Toronto when he was moved as part of a deal to land defenseman Tyson Barrie and forward Alex Kerfoot.
While incredibly skilled, what irked fans so much was that many of the decisions Kadri made were selfish and untimely. Most of them were unnecessary and that appears to be an accurate way to describe how Bunting often plays.
How Does Kadri Feel About Being Compared to Bunting?
Over the past two days, analysts have been connecting dots between Bunting and Kadri, a handful suggesting Bunting is little more than Kadri 2.0. OverDrive host Bryan Hayes was asked during a TSN interview what he thought of the Bunting hit on Cernak and said, it was a 100% suspendable play and called it ‘shades of Nazem Kadri.’
When TSN tweeted a clip of the interview, Kadri responded. Saying, “Y’all gotta leave me outta this one, common man!” A face with tears of joy emoji face accompanied the response. In other words, Kadri seemed to be poking fun at the comparisons and was saying he was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face.
Why Kadri finds that funny isn’t entirely clear, but it could be because he’s been exactly where Bunting seems to be now. The Sportsnet panel during Wednesday night’s broadcast of the NHL playoffs talked about Bunting and hinted that fans might be trying to run him out of town. Kevin Bieksa and Kelly Hrudey both argued that would be a mistake since the Leafs need players who live on the edge, but perhaps it’s already too late. The Leafs aren’t out of the postseason, but based on the length of Bunting’s suspension, there’s a chance he finishes his contract on the sidelines and never plays another game in a Maple Leafs’ uniform.
Kadri knows what it feels like to be ostracized. He even responded during an interview after he won the Stanley Cup that fans who thought he was a liability in the playoffs could kiss his a—. While he didn’t come to the defense of Bunting, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Kadri feeling some empathy for the forward, all while wondering if Toronto fans will come to regret running Bunting out of town too.
It has been four years and Kadri seems to have matured. Could Bunting do the same? If history repeats itself, Toronto fans won’t ever be the benefactors of his maturation. Kadri seems to find that hilarious.