Unsigned Winger Spotted Training With Oilers Stars
The veteran winger has spent the offseason skating alongside Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman, fueling speculation that a deal with the Oilers could be on the way.
Edmonton Makes Sense
The Oilers currently have close to $5 million in cap space, enough room to fit Bunting without requiring a corresponding move, and the front office has been open about wanting more secondary scoring after losing Jack Roslovic, who posted his second straight 20-goal season before departing in free agency.
Beyond McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, scoring depth further down the lineup has been a recurring issue in each of the Oilers' last two trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
Thoughts on the Oilers potentially signing Michael Bunting?
— Bleed Oil Blue (@BleedOilBlue) August 23, 2026
Bunting has been training with Oilers McDavid and Hyman this offseason.
Bunting 14 goals and 33 points last season
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Bunting has scored at least 14 goals in three straight seasons, including back-to-back 19-goal campaigns before last year, and his physical, in-your-face style is the kind of complementary piece a team built around top-end skill likes to go after.
Market's Cooled Considerably
Bunting entered free agency hoping for a multi-year deal, but that expectation has faded the longer he's stayed unsigned.
He split last season between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, finishing with 14 goals and 33 points across 74 games, numbers that show a player that is still productive but no longer commanding the kind of contract he got from Carolina back in 2023.
Edmonton isn't the only team keeping tabs on him. The Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres, and Montreal Canadiens have all been mentioned as suitors as well, with Seattle sitting on roughly $18.4 million in cap space, the most of any of the teams connected to him.
Bunting's best individual stretch came playing alongside Auston Matthews in Toronto during the 2021-22 season, when he scored 23 goals and finished third in Calder Trophy voting.
That track record of clicking with elite playmakers is part of why the sight of him skating with McDavid specifically has fans dreaming, even if casual summer workouts are a long way from an actual contract.
With training camps opening in a few weeks and Bunting's market having cooled to the point where a one-year deal now looks like his likely outcome. Edmonton might be one of the most logical landing spots left.
