With Carolina believed to be among the teams shopping around the goalie market, there’s a possibility that they might need to clear out some money to bring out an impact netminder. To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that some teams have called the Hurricanes regarding the potential availability of winger Michael Bunting.
The 28-year-old is in his first season with Carolina after signing a three-year, $13.5M contract in free agency this past summer. Suffice it to say, moving a $4.5M cap charge off their books would certainly open up plenty of flexibility to go after a goalie if that’s a route they decide they want to go.
However, moving Bunting would also take a player of note from their lineup. While his playing time is down a bit compared to last season at just under 15 minutes a night, he has been a capable secondary contributor offensively, chipping in with eight goals and 17 assists in 36 games while taking a regular turn on their top power play unit. Taking him out of the lineup would create a fair-sized hole to try to fill up front, so it would be surprising to see them go in that direction.
As things stand, Carolina has a little over $3M in spending room, an amount that jumps past $8M at the trade deadline, per CapFriendly. Accordingly, if the Hurricanes stay healthy, they might not necessarily have to clear out a sizable contract to bring in help between the pipes.
In the meantime, GM Don Waddell is likely still working on moving blueliner Tony DeAngelo, a player whose usage has been quite limited in his second go-round with the team. DeAngelo is on an expiring deal with a $1.675M salary and cap hit so even moving out that contract might be enough to give the Hurricanes the flexibility they desire should the opportunity to bring in an impact netminder present itself.
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