Three frontrunners emerge to sign Michael Bunting in free agency
Photo credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Michael Bunting is still a free agent in late July, and his next contract may hinge on one 13-game stretch.
The Hockey News floated three landing spots for the 30-year-old winger: the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Winnipeg Jets.
Each is framed around roster need. None of them is framed around the one number that should decide his next contract.
That number is 13. In 13 games with the Dallas Stars after a deadline trade, Bunting managed one goal and two points.
Before that, he had 13 goals and 31 points in 61 games with the Nashville Predators. Same season, same player, wildly different output.
Why the Dallas stretch matters more than the point totals
Bunting's game is built on net-front work and forechecking, which only pays off when a playmaker feeds him and a coach commits to top-nine minutes.
Dropped into a set Dallas lineup at the deadline, he got neither, and his production vanished almost overnight.
The small sample is easy to dismiss. It is also the only look at Bunting without a defined role.
That stretch is not noise to wave away. It is a preview of what any team gets if it signs Bunting and buries him.
Which suitor can actually deliver the usage
The Buffalo Sabres have the cleanest opening after losing Alex Tuch, with real top-nine minutes available right now.
The Montreal Canadiens would ask him to beat out Alex Newhook first, which risks a repeat of the Dallas role problem.
The Winnipeg Jets sit in between, offering middle-six work behind their top scorers but no guarantee of a scoring linemate.
Bunting earned $4.5 million on his last deal, per PuckPedia, and he may take less this time.
The team that wins the bet is not the one that needs him most.
It is the one willing to promise him the minutes his good numbers quietly depend on.
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