The Flyers are making a move to jolt a season that has opened with four ugly losses, and they’re doing it with one of the more proven names still sitting in free agency.
According to multiple reports, Philadelphia has signed forward Michael Bunting to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million AAV. For general manager Danny Briere, it’s a quick, low-cost swing aimed at snapping the team out of its early-season funk.
Bunting, 31, arrives with a long trail of stops around the league and a track record that suggests he can fit just about anywhere. His biggest breakout came with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was brought in at 26 after a first NHL stint with the Arizona Coyotes and quickly became the kind of rugged, useful winger teams love next to elite skill.
That role paid off in a big way. In 2021-22, Bunting put up 23 goals and 63 points for Toronto, then followed it with 23 goals and 49 points the next season.
After that, the moves started coming. He signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, but only months into that contract he was included in the Jake Guentzel trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Between Carolina and Pittsburgh that season, he totaled 55 points.
The carousel kept spinning. Bunting then played on some not-so-good Penguins teams, scoring 19 goals and 38 points in 76 games split between Pittsburgh and the Nashville Predators after another midseason deal. Last season brought yet another move, this time from Nashville to the Dallas Stars.
Even in a tough year for the Predators, Bunting still produced. He scored 13 goals and 31 points in 61 games while averaging 14:48 of ice time, and five of those goals came on the power play.
That production is part of why he remains in a class with other notable unrestricted free agents such as Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Laine, players who could help a team right now but were still available until this deal came together.
For the Flyers, the appeal is obvious. Bunting is inexpensive, it’s only for one year, and it avoids surrendering a draft pick in a trade or taking a flier on a waiver claim that could backfire. He’s the kind of player coaches can drop into different spots and expect a professional result.
He has already shown he can work beside top-end talent, including Auston Matthews in Toronto, and he could serve the same purpose in Philadelphia with a high-skill player like Trevor Zegras near the top of the lineup. If needed, he can also slide into a more grind-heavy role with Noah Cates.
His most common linemate in Pittsburgh was Evgeni Malkin, another reminder that Bunting can be the third man on a line and handle the dirty work.
That versatility is what makes him such a natural fit for a Flyers roster searching for answers. He can help on the wing, add net-front presence, and maybe give the power play another look with someone willing to stand in the mess and do the work.
Where he lands in the lineup is still to be determined, and that should become clearer when the Flyers visit the Senators in Ottawa on Thursday. For now, Philadelphia has at least done something different, and Bunting brings a history that says he can make a difference.
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The Flyers early offensive issues made the front office move quickly, and Michael Bunting was brought in on a one-year, $1.2 million contract as part of that effort. Philadelphia had been short on finish through the opening stretch, and the hope is that Bunting can help add a little more spark to a group that has been searching for goals and cleaner looks in the attacking zone.
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Flyers Already Look Stuck With A Roster Problem They Created
The Flyers came into training camp with a roster that felt mostly decided before the competition even got going, and the shortened preseason only made that approach harder to challenge. Danny Briere acknowledged the team had a preset mindset, which meant there was limited room for younger players to force their way onto the opening night lineup even as Cole Knuble and Jett Luchanko showed enough promise to at least keep the conversation alive.
Philadelphias caution has left it with a familiar early-season problem: a roster that may not have much flexibility when opportunities appear. Even with injuries creating openings, the Flyers still did not lean into them for a young forward, a choice that speaks to how carefully the organization is managing its prospects and how quickly a self-imposed logjam can turn into a real issue once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]