Bunting creates a roadblock on the wing for young forward development
Michael Bunting is a top forward for Nashville, don't get me wrong. He has 12 goals and 18 assists in 57 games. He's scored 10% of the team's power play goals with four. Considering Bunting's a middle-six winger with 14:52 of ice time per game, those are pretty good stats. Not only that, but he's also good at drawing penalties. So far, he's given his team 40 minutes of power play time.
However, Bunting's on the final year of his $13.5M deal with Nashville. With players like Matthew Wood, Joakim Kemell, and Zachary L'Heureux all looking for more ice time, keeping Bunting around is only going to hurt those chances. His trade value is at a high, and Trotz needs to take advantage of it.
Like McCarron, some analysts have posed a higher-than-expected return for him last season. One wrote that a team like the Lightning could've sent a top end prospect and a low-end pick for Bunting. With the current situation of Tampa Bay, that prospect is long gone and out of the equation. After missing a deal with the New York Islanders earlier this year, it's clear that team's want Bunting and that the team should take the time now to figure out a trade.
Honorable Mentions
Ryan O'Reilly: I really don't see a deal getting done this early. He's stuck on staying put with the team for the time being so a trade isn't fully pushed aside, but right now isn't the best.
Tyson Jost: With the way Jost played in the past with Nashville, resign talks weren't ignored by fans. However, he's gone a bit quiet and might interest some teams looking for a depth centerman.
Steven Stamkos: Much like O'Reilly, it's too early to trade off Stamkos. For one, his contract is hard to work with, holding an $8M AAV for the next two years. If a trade does happen, Nashville will need to either retain salary or bring back a big contract which isn't ideal.