According to an official press release from the Philadelphia Flyers, the team have re-signed forward Connor Bunnaman to a two-year deal worth $750k AAV.
The 23-year-old split last season between the Flyers and Phantoms last year, appearing in 18 games in the NHL. His work-ethic and physicality were clear, just as they were in 2019. He ended the 2020 campaign with a 53% faceoff percentage, providing some immediate value.
However, he’s struggled to put up points consistently both for the Flyers and Phantoms. He’s only scored one goal and notched two assists through 39 NHL appearances over the past two years, with 33 shots on net. With the Phantoms, he’s potted 26 and added 17 assists through 106 games.
There’s no questioning that the former fourth-round selection can continue to develop in Philadelphia, but with a flurry of young forwards around him, he may end up starting the year down at Lehigh Valley again to continue to hone his craft.
With that said, Bunnaman is a nice depth piece to have and could still have a long career ahead of him. It hasn’t helped that his experiences with the Flyers on the bottom six have come with interchangeable line mates without any real time to gel and find his footing. We may see him called up on a few occasions over the next two years and it will be fun to keep an eye on his growth in that time.
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