Why Michael Bunting Needs to Stay In Pittsburgh
On March 8th, 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Michael Bunting, prospects, and two draft picks. Guentzel finished the season with the Hurricanes; however, signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the offseason on a new seven-year deal. Bunting is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and has found a new home alongside Evgeni Malkin on the Penguins second line. Bunting has also found himself on the top powerplay unit in Pittsburgh.
Kyle Dubas, the Penguins’ President of Hockey Operations and general manager, was the general manager in Toronto, where he traded for Bunting. Dubas has also been talking about a rebuild and how no one on the team is off-limits for other teams except for Sidney Crosby. Part of the rebuild is that Dubas wants to keep the Penguins competitive, and getting rid of someone like Bunting would make Pittsburgh less competitive. Bunting has been one the best players on the team this season, especially on the powerplay.
Bunting has played 70 games for the Penguins since coming over in the trade. In those 70 games, he had 20 goals and 26 assists for 46 points. This season alone, he has 14 goals, with many of them coming on the powerplay. On Thursday night in Anaheim, the Penguins scored one goal in a 5-1 loss, that lone goal coming from Michael Bunting on the powerplay. Mike Sullivan has been very outspoken about how much he enjoys the way Buting plays. He is one of those forwards who will fight for the puck every second he is on the ice, and often that leads to turnovers.
Bunting is currently signed for $4.5 million per year, in this next contract, he will most likely ask for that, if not more. Bunting is only 29, making him a younger player on the Penguins. Dubas and Sullivan both like having a player like Bunting on the team, however, with the season he is having, his value is at an all-time high. Getting rid of Bunting would be committing to the rebuild; however, it would make Pittsburgh significantly less competitive.
