The Predators and Penguins have made a multi-player swap. Nashville has acquired winger Michael Bunting along with a 2026 fourth-round pick from Pittsburgh in exchange for center Thomas Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn.
Pittsburgh acquired Bunting last season as the most prominent part of the package from the Jake Guentzel trade with Carolina. However, the 29-year-old has struggled in his first full season with the Pens. Through 58 games this season, Bunting has just 14 goals and 15 assists. By comparison, he had 19 points in 21 games down the stretch last year and hasn’t recorded fewer than 49 points over the last three seasons, a streak that seems likely to come to an end.
Nashville will undoubtedly be hoping that the change of scenery will get him back to the level of production he had. They’re taking on the final year and a bit of a contract that carries a $4.5MM cap charge. When Bunting is at his best, he’s worth that type of money as a top-six winger who plays with an edge but he’ll be joining a team that has had several veterans underachieve this season.
The move is an interesting one from their standpoint. While the expectation was that they’d be looking for younger pieces who are longer-term fits, they actually get a little older up front with the swap while losing some club control with Novak still having two years left on his contract after this one. It suggests that GM Barry Trotz feels his team isn’t that far away from being a playoff contender once again and that a tweak or two to the forward group could propel them back in the right direction next season. Bunting won’t be able to help in the short term, however, as he is currently on IR after undergoing an appendectomy.
As for Pittsburgh’s return, Novak is the headliner. He’s a bit of a reclamation project himself as he’s in the midst of a down year as well. The 27-year-old had two straight seasons of more than 40 points heading into this one, a performance that earned him a three-year, $10.5MM contract a little before the trade deadline last March.
But, like many of Nashville’s players this season, Novak hasn’t been able to produce to expectations. He has just 13 goals and nine assists in 52 games while his playing time has dipped to just over 13 minutes a night. Meanwhile, his struggles at the faceoff dot continue as he’s winning just 43% of his draws which has resulted in him spending more time on the wing this year.
Clearly, Pittsburgh feels that a fresh start will be beneficial for Novak. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him moved back down the middle with a center group that’s on the older side, featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes. If they can get Novak back to even being a capable third-line option, that would be a solid outcome for a team that clearly isn’t looking to rebuild despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for the third straight year.
Schenn, meanwhile, has been a fixture on the third pairing of several teams in recent seasons. After faring well with Vancouver and Toronto in the 2022-23 campaign, he signed a three-year, $8.25MM contract with Nashville in the 2023 offseason. But his role has been more limited with the Predators as he has barely averaged 15 minutes a night since joining them. While he brings plenty of physicality to the table – he has notched more than 200 hits in four straight years – he hasn’t been able to elevate himself to being higher than sixth on the depth chart. Meanwhile, he has just five points in 61 outings this season although offense has never been his calling card.
It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh intends to hold onto Schenn or if they intend to flip him, just like they did earlier tonight with Vincent Desharnais. Despite Schenn’s struggles, his success at being a late-season addition before coupled with his toughness will undoubtedly have playoff-bound teams kicking the tires on the potential of him being moved once again. If it doesn’t happen, he’s likely to have the same role on the depth chart with the Penguins on their third pairing.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the players involved while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first with the pick inclusion.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.