Michael Bunting has 109 career goals and 252 career points in 418 career games, appearing with the Predators and Stars last season. Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Free-agent forward Michael Bunting has joined the winless Philadelphia Flyers on a 1-year, $1.2 million deal, according to league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations that aren’t public.
The 31-year-old forward split the 2025-26 regular season between the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars, posting 13 goals and 31 points in 61 games for the former and one goal and two points in 13 games for the latter. He also appeared in one playoff game for the Stars during their first-round loss to the Minnesota Wild, registering an assist.
The Flyers are Bunting’s seventh team since he entered the league during the 2018-19 season with the Arizona Coyotes, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Bunting has 109 career goals and 252 career points in 418 career games. Coming off a three-year deal worth $4.5 million annually, he went unsigned through the summer and the start of the 2026-27 season.
Why Philly wanted Bunting
Bunting will join a Flyers forward group that has been downright atrocious so far this season, with just three combined goals in four games. (Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov have one apiece.) The Flyers are averaging just 19.3 shots on goal per game, 31st in the NHL, and fell to 0-2-2 after Monday’s 4-1 loss to the Lightning.
While there had been speculation that the Flyers could recall prospect Cole Knuble to make his NHL debut after Knuble was their best young player in training camp, signing Bunting makes more sense in that they don’t have to rush anyone up from the American Hockey League.
In 2018-19, Bunting played his first five career NHL games for Flyers coach Rick Tocchet’s Coyotes, and another 21 games in 2020-21. Primarily a left wing, Bunting could replace Carl Grundstrom, who already cleared waivers before the start of the season, in Philadelphia’s lineup. Adding Bunting also sends a message that GM Daniel Briere won’t be afraid to make changes if the losses keep mounting.
— Pierre LeBrun contributed to this report.
Oct 6, 2026
Connections: Sports Edition
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today’s puzzle