The Real Reason for Michael Bunting's Scratching Has Been Leaked

Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Knies would be in the lineup for Game 5 regardless of the status of Bunting, Keefe clearly being impressed by the youngster, even with only 3 regular season games under his belt.

According to an article from The Athletic, Knies is a player that has been respected by Sheldon Keefe, as evident as much by the apparent promotion of Knies into the Leafs top-six for Game 5, being on the second line in practice with John Tavares and Mitch Marner.

The plan to leave Michael Bunting off the Game 5 roster was much tougher to do with Knies having emerged as a legitimate offensive threat, as opposed to a stopgap option for the absence of Bunting, who had served a three-game suspension following a hit on Lightning Defenseman Erik Cernak in Game 1.

The move also signifies the Leafs belief in it's defensive minded bottom-six, keeping defensively responsible options as Zach Aston-Reese and Sam Lafferty in instead of giving Toronto yet another offensive weapon in Bunting.

If the Tampa series, already 3-1, goes to a Game 6 if Toronto cannot close out elimination, it would be possible that Keefe makes the decision to return Bunting into the lineup, and likely if they advance, one would expect Bunting to re-join anyways, whether Knies is the odd man out or not.

But for the time being, Sheldon Keefe has put his faith in a young talent that will be as bold of a chance for a Leafs team that can not allow yet another humiliation in Round 1.