The Philadelphia Flyers have added some scoring punch, signing free-agent winger Michael Bunting to a one-year contract.
Bunting, who scored 14 goals and 33 points last season for the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, is finally signed after lingering on the free-agent market into the season.
Flyers Sign Michael Bunting
TSN’s Darren Dreger broke the news on Tuesday that Bunting, who was surprisingly still available on the free-agent market, has signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Flyers.
“The @NHLFlyers are bringing in Michael Bunting for some spark. Deal agreed to at $1.2 mil. AAV,” Dreger wrote on X.
Michael Bunting Has a Scoring Touch
Bunting was first drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes.
The 31-year-old native of Scarborough, Ontario, has played in parts of nine seasons in the NHL for the Coyotes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Predators, and the Stars.
Now, he can mark off Philadelphia from his list of NHL teams, as the well-traveled veteran will join the Flyers as they look to make the playoffs again after going to the postseason last year.
In 418 career NHL games, Bunting has scored 109 goals and 252 points overall. In 14 playoff games in his career, he has added two goals and six points.
Despite Bunting not being an elite player by any means, it was still very surprising to see him linger on the free-agent market for as long as he did, as he brings depth scoring to any team that he plays for.
His best year came in 2021-22 for the Maple Leafs, when he scored 23 goals and had 63 points for Toronto. He scored 23 goals and 49 points for the Maple Leafs the following year, but he departed for the Hurricanes in free agency after that.
It remains to be seen what line he will play on in Philadelphia, but given that he has a nice scoring touch, he should be able to find some work on the team’s second or third line and perhaps get some time on the team’s power-play unit, which could help prop up his goal total.
Flyers Sign Former Maple Leafs Winger