Hurricanes Rumors: Michael Bunting Trade Talk Heating Up

Carolina Hurricanes forward Michael Bunting has seen his name pick up some steam in the rumor mill over the last few weeks. It was recently reported that teams have expressed interest in Bunting, as the Hurricanes have dropped his placement in the lineup. Now, trade chatter surrounding the gritty winger is continuing to increase, as Sportsnet placed him on their latest trade candidates board.

Bunting was signed by the Hurricanes during the offseason to a three-year deal, but given all of this trade buzz centering around him, his future with the team is certainly not set in stone. With that, the Hurricanes need a goaltender immediately, so moving his contract to free up cap space would make sense if for that reason.

Although Bunting's role with the Hurricanes has dropped as the season has rolled on, he has not been bad by any means. In 39 games on the campaign, he currently has nine goals to go along with 26 points. Teams wanting some scoring and grit in their top six are likely to target him over these next few weeks because of it.

We will now need to wait and see what the Hurricanes end up doing with Bunting from here. It is clear that he is an appealing trade target, but time will tell if it does in fact come to fruition.