- Bunting is the biggest forward left on the UFA market after Kane re-signed in Chicago
- Buffalo, Montreal and Winnipeg all line up as fits for the 30-year-old winger
- Read below for the contract range Bunting is looking at after three straight trade seasons
Michael Bunting is the most recognizable forward still sitting on the free agent market.
With Patrick Kane back in Chicago on a two-year deal, the 30-year-old winger is the name left for teams still shopping. The Hockey News laid out Buffalo, Montreal and Winnipeg as his three most realistic landing spots, and none of them is a reach.
Buffalo has the cleanest opening of the three. The Sabres lost Alex Tuch this summer, chased Kane and came up empty, and have added nothing up front since.
Montreal would put him in a camp battle with Alex Newhook for the second-line left wing job. Winnipeg is thinner on the wing than it wants to be, and Bunting would slide in ahead of Nino Niederreiter in the middle six.
The résumé is better than one down year makes it look. Bunting put up 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 74 games split between Nashville and Dallas last season, and that was easily his worst as a full-timer. He cleared 49 points every year from 2021-22 through 2023-24, including a 63-point rookie season in Toronto that got him third in Calder voting.
The rest of his game is the part that travels anywhere. Take a look back at the net-front pest routine that made him a nightmare to play against in Toronto:
Mileage is the holdup. Bunting has been moved in three straight seasons, from Carolina to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh to Nashville, and Nashville to Dallas on March 5 for a third-round pick. He finished with one goal and one assist in 13 games as a Star while banged up.
Pro Hockey Rumors had him pegged for four years and $20MM before July 1. That number is long gone. The realistic ask now is one year in the $4MM to $4.5MM range, which is right around what he earned on his last contract.
Every team on that list has already done its heavy lifting this summer. Whoever calls Bunting in August is selling him a role, not a raise.
