Little did the Toronto Maple Leafs realize they signed a player who would find success on their top line with Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner when they gave Bunting a two-year contract July 28, 2021. The forward enjoyed a breakthrough rookie season in the NHL at 26 years old and became the first to score a hat trick the same day his hometown (Scarborough, Ontario) was featured on "Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada."

Bunting was a fourth-round pick (No. 117) of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2014 NHL Draft, and scored 14 points (11 goals, three assists) in 26 games. He helped Canada win the 2021 IIHF World Championship with 28 shots on goal in 10 games and scored 205 points (85 goals, 120 assists) in 323 games for Tucson of the American Hockey League.

After Bunting was drafted by the Coyotes, he led Soo of the Ontario Hockey League with 37 goals in 57 games and was an alternate captain. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Arizona on July 23, 2015. He made his pro debut with Springfield of the AHL in 2015-16, scoring 74 points (37 goals, 37 assists) in 63 games, and played his 200th game in the league for Tucson against Bakersfield on Oct. 13, 2018.

Bunting, a finalist for the 2022 Calder Trophy, signed a three-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2023. It had an average annual value of $4.5 million. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the deal that sent Jake Guentzel and Ty Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, 2024, and sent to the Nashville Predators on March 5, 2025, and then traded to the Dallas Stars on March 5, 2026. He was third on the Predators in power-play goals (5) and fourth in goals (13) at the time of the deal.