Michael Bunting is still out there, and that alone makes him one of the more puzzling NHL free agents left on the board.
He’s not the kind of player who’s going to fix an offense by himself or suddenly turn into a 30-goal scorer for a contender. He’s also not the cleanest two-way option you’ll find.
But that’s not why he keeps coming up in conversations. Bunting has already proven he can stick in the NHL, chip in offensively, and make opponents miserable in the process.
He works the hard areas, he stirs things up, and he brings the kind of edge that tends to matter more when the games tighten.
That’s what makes his situation so strange. As of now, he doesn’t have a contract, and apparently he doesn’t even have a PTO.
For a player with his track record, that feels like a notable hold-up. The Edmonton Oilers, for one, could use a Corey Perry-lite type like Bunting on their roster.
Part of the challenge with Bunting is that his value doesn’t always jump off the page. If you look only at his recent production, there’s room to dismiss him. His 2025-26 season wasn’t a strong endorsement, and teams have plenty of younger players they’d probably rather give a look.
But hockey isn’t played on a spreadsheet. Bunting’s game is built around competition, physical annoyance, and those little scraps along the boards and in the corners that can wear a team down. Those details can look secondary in October and suddenly feel essential in the playoffs.
So maybe teams are betting they can find similar production from younger, cheaper options. Maybe they’re waiting for training camp to shake things out. Maybe Bunting’s asking price is higher than clubs want to go.
All of that makes sense. But there’s another possibility too: NHL teams may be chasing upside so hard that they’re overlooking a player who can make a bottom-six role harder to play against.
Bunting probably isn’t the missing piece for a Stanley Cup run. Still, if he’s willing to accept a depth job and the salary that comes with it, it’s fair to wonder why no team has stepped in.
The bigger question may not be why Michael Bunting remains unsigned. It may be whether clubs will look back next spring and regret passing on him.
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Now, with the Oilers looking ahead to the 2026-27 training camp, Hutson is in the mix to push for an NHL job rather than simply being depth in the system. Edmontons front office has already identified him as a player who could be knocking on the door soon, which gives this camp a little more weight than another ordinary evaluation summer. [Read more 🡒]