Penguins player provides what's been missing in Pittsburgh

Michael Bunting has provided the Pittsburgh Penguins the type of player that they needed most, an agitator who will displays a nice offensive touch when needed.

When Michael Bunting was brought over the the Hurricanes in a deal that saw fan favorite Jake Guentzel leave Pittsburgh, not too much was known or expected of him.

He started on the line with Crosby during his first 4 games, and managed to score one goal during that time which did get the Penguins a point in a 2-1 OT loss to the Ottawa Senators. But it was Malkin who was on the ice with him during that goal.




After that goal, Bunting seemed to find a place on that second line beside Malkin, and together it looked like they had some chemistry. The one game that stood out was the Tampa Bay Lightning home victory, where both Malkin and Bunting contributed on three of the total goals in that game. One of which came from Bunting's stick in the form of the game winner.



In addition to his five-on-five play and power play contributions at the slot, Bunting has shown that he has no problem getting under the skin of the opponent. He can get in front of the net as well for a dirty goal as needed, and his board play is excellent.

With his limited time as a Penguin, we did see Bunting agitate the Bruins by tripping their goaltender Linus Ullmark in a 6-4 home loss in April. He has been known to mix it up with Marchand from time to time in his career as well.



It looks like Bunting could have found a home with the Penguins. He just finished up the first year of a three-year deal worth $4.5 million. He is a pending unrestricted free agent in 2026.

He seems to work well with Malkin, who also enjoyed playing with the likes of Jason Tucker and Patric Hornqvist, and there are parts of Bunting's game that remind me of those two. He finished the season with points in his last 7 of 8 games. In 21 games with the Pens, he had a total of 19 points (6G, 13A).

The trade did have the Penguins giving up the better player in Guentzel, but they did in return receive the type of player that they needed.

As Read On: Trib Live -

Penguins A to Z: Michael Bunting provides what has been needed