Michael Bunting Signs With Flyers, Capping Forgettable Chapter for Stars' Deadline Pickup

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers announced the signing of former Dallas Stars forward Michael Bunting to a new deal valued at $1.2 million, effectively ending hopes that the scrappy winger would return to the Lone Star State.

At the conclusion of last season, Bunting was vocal about hoping to return to the Stars and said the two sides had a good end-of-season meeting. However, Dallas, like most other clubs, did not appear interested in the 31-year-old Scarborough native. 

Bunting never found a fit in Dallas after the Nashville Predators dealt him to the Stars late in the season for a 2026 third-round pick. He managed just two points and a minus-seven rating through 13 games, and he appeared in only one playoff game, where he picked up an assist.

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It is a far cry from how his NHL career began as Bunting burst onto the scene with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22, when he posted 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points in a surprising rookie campaign. 

He followed that with a near-50-point season the next year, but his production has since declined, and he has bounced around the league with stops in Carolina, Pittsburgh, Nashville and, most recently, Dallas. Bunting has now settled into the role of a depth forward who produces roughly 30 points a season.

That is the role he is expected to fill in Philadelphia, where he joins a Flyers team that has long carried a reputation for aggression and is adding another agitator to the mix.

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