Accordingly Rogers Sportsnet On Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes traded Michael Bunting from Scarborough, Ontario to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to Bunting, the Penguins received prospects Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius and Vasily Ponomarev, a conditional first- and fifth-round pick in 2024, and 25% of Jake Guentzel’s salary. The Hurricanes welcomed Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith.
Bunting joins his fourth National Hockey League team. He previously played two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes (2018-19 and 2020-21), two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2021-22 and 2022-23) and one season with the Hurricanes (2023-24).
In 60 games this season, Bunting has 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points. He is a -15 with 55 penalty minutes, 16 power play points, a game-winning goal, 113 shots on goal, six faceoff wins, 15 blocked shots, 25 hits, 22 takeaways and 41 giveaways. Bunting’s game-winning goal came on December 19 in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Bunting scored against Brent Burns of Barrie, Ont., and Sebastian Aho at 12:39 of the second period, giving the Hurricanes a 4-1 lead at that point.
One of the main reasons Bunting was traded by the Hurricanes was his own struggles this season. At -15, Bunting was one of the teams that is +32 this season and is in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points.
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