The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed Connor Bunnaman to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $750,000 that runs through the 2022-23 season, per Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. The contract is a two-way deal for 2021-22, and becomes a one-way deal for 2022-23.
Bunnaman, a fourth round pick of the Flyers in the 2016 NHL Draft, played in 18 games for Philadelphia last season, where he recorded one assist while logging 11:34 of ice time per game. Bunnaman spent some time on the team’s taxi squad and also appeared in 15 games for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he posted one goal and one assist for the Flyers’ top minor league affiliate.
Bunnaman has appeared in 39 total NHL games, all with the Flyers. He has registered one goal and two assists in that time. He made his NHL debut on October 4th, 2019 when Philadelphia took on the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Global Series in Prague, Czech Republic for their 2019-20 season opener.
Bunnaman has also played in 106 AHL contests, all coming with the Phantoms. Since making his professional debut with the club on October 12th, 2018 against the Springfield Thunderbirds, Bunnaman has racked up 26 goals and 17 assists for 43 points with Lehigh Valley over the last three seasons.
Bunnaman scored his first NHL goal on January 13th, 2020 against the Boston Bruins at Wells Fargo Center. He deflected a Mark Friedman wrist shot and it found its way past Jaroslav Halak in a wild game that the Flyers would come from behind from multiple multi-goal deficits and win 6-5 in a shootout.
Bunnaman also appeared in four postseason games with the Flyers in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the team entered the Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto. He played in two Round Robin matchups against the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, and also suited up for two games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Montreal Canadiens.
Bunnaman will look to carve out a permanent role in the bottom-six when training camp rolls around in September. The 23 year-old Guelph, Ontario native will have plenty of healthy competition to become a mainstay in Alain Vigneault’s lineup with players such as Morgan Frost and Nate Thompson hungry and looking to earn full-time roles with the team as well.