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Predators Acquire Michael Bunting

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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.

Sharks Acquire Vincent Desharnais

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The Sharks have added some depth on the back end, acquiring defenseman Vincent Desharnais from Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2028 fifth-round pick.  Both teams have announced the trade.

The 28-year-old’s stay with the Penguins was short-lived as he only spent 10 games with them after being acquired from Vancouver last month as part of the Marcus Pettersson trade.  It has been a tough season for Desharnais who has struggled in his first season away from Edmonton.  He has played in 44 games between the two teams but has just three assists along with 68 blocks and 73 hits while averaging 15:37 per game.

Desharnais is in the first year of a two-year, $4MM contract signed back in July following a stint in Edmonton where he worked his way up from a minor league deal to eventually landing a regular spot on their third pairing.  Now, he’ll try to reclaim a full-time spot in San Jose’s lineup.

While it might seem odd for San Jose to be adding to their roster, Desharnais is a low-cost pickup from an acquisition standpoint while the extra year on his contract isn’t an issue for a team projected to have plenty of cap space for next season.  If he can get back to being a full-timer, it’s possible they’ll be better poised to flip him for a stronger return at this time next year.  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh sheds a contract they had to take on to facilitate last month’s swap with the Canucks, opening up some extra cap space which it appears they’ll put to use quite quickly.

Latest On The Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t expected to have a fire sale prior to the NHL Trade Deadline but they could be one of the busier teams this week according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Yohe projects that the Penguins will try and get their bigger moves done mid-week because they will be in Las Vegas on Friday and will have a difficult time getting players to the West Coast if they make moves right at the Deadline.

Yohe believes that Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas and his management team may have altered their plans due to the market shifting and becoming much more of a seller’s market. There are only six teams that are truly in sell mode, and this has led to first round picks being moved routinely in recent weeks. The Penguins have already acquired one in the swap with Vancouver for Marcus Pettersson and could be looking to land another for Rickard Rakell.

Dubas has been stockpiling young assets since last year’s Trade Deadline and is expected to move out more veterans in favor of futures. Most of the roster appears to be in play except for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and likely Kris Letang.

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, and forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Noel Acciari are available and Yohe speculates that at least one of them will be moved. Grzelcyk and Beauvillier are UFAs this summer and are unlikely to remain in Pittsburgh long term, so moving them makes sense even though the return will be minimal. Acciari seems the least likely to go as he has another year on his deal at $2MM and Dubas has always had an affinity for the 33-year-old.

Then there is the Erik Karlsson $10MM question. Yohe guesses that a summer deal is more likely for the three-time Norris Trophy winner as no trade talks have happened yet and he hasn’t been asked to waive his no-trade clause. Penguins’ management reportedly believes that Karlsson would be willing to go to other teams, but the list of potential destinations isn’t long.

Several Western Conference teams have expressed interest in forward Rakell, but the Penguins don’t feel any pressure to move him. That being said, given that few teams are selling the Penguins might get an offer in the final few days that is too hard to refuse.

Regardless of what the Penguins do, it’s hard to imagine that they make any moves in net, the team reportedly would like to keep Alex Nedeljkovic around to mentor their younger goaltenders, and Tristan Jarry is unmovable at this point, other than perhaps swapping him for another overpriced player who is underperforming.

Penguins Place Pierre-Olivier Joseph On Injured Reserve

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The Penguins announced they’ve placed defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on injured reserve. There’s no corresponding transaction for now, so they’re left with an open roster spot.

Joseph, 25, quietly departed Saturday’s loss to the Bruins with an upper-body injury in the first period, not before laying a huge hit on Boston captain Brad Marchand. He was held out of yesterday’s loss to the Maple Leafs as a result, allowing Ryan Graves to re-enter the lineup after he sat as a healthy scratch against the Bs.

It’s Joseph’s first IR placement of what’s been an expressly disappointing season for the 2017 first-round pick. He was non-tendered by Pittsburgh last summer and signed a one-year deal with the Blues on the open market, but found his way back to the Pens when they acquired him in mid-December for future considerations.

Joseph has posted decent possession metrics (51.5 CF%, 47.4 xGF% at even strength) since the move, but they haven’t translated to the scoresheet. He has just one assist in 24 appearances with a -15 rating, averaging 17:20 per game. It’s a far cry from the 21 points he posted in 75 games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23 that earned him some very fringe Calder Trophy consideration.

The ex-Coyotes prospect, initially acquired by Pittsburgh in the 2021 Phil Kessel trade, has fallen out of the regular lineup as a result. He’s been a healthy scratch on a few occasions recently as the Pens look to work in new additions Vincent Desharnais and Vladislav Kolyachonok into depth roles.

Joseph is slated for restricted free agency this summer, but with how things are trending, the Penguins will likely release him for the second season in a row. He’ll be hard-pressed to find a raise on his $950K cap hit for 2024-25.

Penguins Sign Finn Harding To Entry-Level Deal

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The Penguins announced they’ve signed defense prospect Finn Harding to a three-year, entry-level deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Harding, 20, was an overage selection by the Pens in the seventh round of last year’s draft. The 6’2″ righty was initially eligible for selection in 2023. However, he was passed over after recording only 10 points in 63 games in his rookie season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga (now Brampton) Steelheads.

The Toronto native emerged as a threat in Mississauga last season, leading the club with a +39 rating and adding 10-24–34 in 68 games. That was enough to warrant a late-round flyer from Pittsburgh, who must be pleased with their selection. Harding has now clicked near a point per game after the franchise relocated to Brampton, ranking fourth on the club in scoring with 7-48–55 through 59 games. He again leads the team with a +43 rating to boot, quickly emerging as one of the OHL’s better two-way defenders in what figures to be his final junior season.

Harding’s deal doesn’t go into effect until the 2025-26 campaign and isn’t eligible for a slide given his age, so he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028. He’s a likely candidate to finish out the season with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a tryout if their season extends past Brampton’s.

His semi-delayed development isn’t necessarily the strongest indicator of future NHL success, even with how well he’s played this year with Brampton. His transition to playing in the pros on a full-time basis next year, whether in the AHL or ECHL, will be an important factor to monitor to get a better idea of his upside as a full-time NHLer down the line.

The Penguins now have 12 defensemen under contract for next season after Harding’s signing.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Tristan Jarry, Reassign Joel Blomqvist

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are changing their goaltending tandem once again. The Penguins announced they’ve recalled goaltender Tristan Jarry from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have reassigned Joel Blomqvist in a corresponding transaction.

Jarry has spent much of the last two months with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, managing a 6-5-1 record in 12 games with a .908 SV% and 2.67 GAA. After clearing waivers in mid-January, Pittsburgh made the difficult decision to reassign Jarry to the AHL for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Penguins will now hope Jarry has regained confidence in his game after a relatively strong stretch of play in the AHL.

The Surrey, British Columbia native doesn’t have much runway left with the organization. Jarry parlayed .909 SV% and 2.90 GAA in 47 starts into a five-year $26.88MM extension in Pittsburgh after the 2022-23 season. To put it bluntly, the Penguins haven’t received a quality return on investment.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Jarry has managed a 27-33-9 record through 69 starts with a .897 SV% and 3.04 GAA. He lost his starting role to Alex Nedeljkovic toward the end of last season and hasn’t done anything to earn it back. Still, the Penguins’ goaltending struggles don’t begin and end with Jarry, as the entire goaltending trio has produced a .888 SV% in 63 games with a startling -25.2 goals saved above average, according to Hockey Reference.

Meanwhile, given his struggles in the NHL this season and that he’s only 23 years old, the hourglass was nearly empty for Blomqvist’s stay in Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. He’s earned a 4-9-1 record through his first 15 NHL starts with a .885 SV% and 3.81 GAA.

Given the early struggles of his career and the Penguins’ lethargic play in front of him for much of the season, it’s prudent for Blomqvist’s development to return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Uusikaarlepyy, Finland native has been remarkably better in the AHL, boasting a 32-19-10 record in two years with a .917 SV% and 2.38 GAA.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph Leaves Game With Injury

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are closing in on an extension with forward Mathieu Olivier (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). The 28-year-old is in his sixth season with Columbus and has set career highs in many statistical categories, registering 12 goals and nine assists in 60 games. While he will never be an analytical darling, Olivier has made his presence known this season, posting 228 hits and 66 blocked shots.

Olivier is in the second season of a two-year $2.2MM contract and was set to become a UFA on July 1st. He picked an excellent time to have a career year and will surely earn a raise on the $1.1MM he is making this season.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph left yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury (Twitter Link). The injury occurred when Bruins forward Mark Kastelic hit Joseph with a thunderous body check that sent the Penguins defender to the ice and ultimately out of the game. It was an unfortunate end to an eventful day for Joseph who had earlier laid a hit that sent Bruins forward Brad Marchand out of the game. It’s been a tough stretch this season for the 25-year-old who was dealt mid-season from St. Louis back to the Penguins for future considerations and has been exposed defensively for much of the time since his return.
  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway was unavailable for last night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets due to an upper body injury (Twitter link). Hathaway last played on Thursday against Pittsburgh, and likely suffered the injury after taking a late hit from Penguins forward Boko Imama. Imama was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play and Hathaway needed assistance to get off the ice. The 33-year-old Hathaway has eight goals and 10 assists in 60 games this season and has continued to provide a physical presence for the Flyers, handing out 218 hits.

Penguins Recall Emil Bemstrom, Place Michael Bunting On IR

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a flurry of roster moves in the wake of winger Michael Bunting’s appendectomy. Bunting has been moved to injured reserve and will miss at least a week of action. Pittsburgh has recalled winger Emil Bemstrom to fill the resulting roster vacancy. In a separate pair of moves, the Penguins activated enforcer Bokondji Imama off of injured reserve and assigned veteran forward Matthew Nieto to the minor leagues. Nieto cleared waivers earlier today.

Through the mix of injury, demotion, and surprise surgery, this flurry of moves should give Bemstrom a hardier crack at the NHL lineup. He leads the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 21 goals and 46 points in 43 games this season – the only player on the team scoring above a point-per-game pace. Despite that, Pittsburgh waited until early February to award Bemstrom his first call-up of the season. He’s played in two NHL games since then but didn’t manage any scoring.

The Penguins acquired Bemstrom in a swap for Alexander Nylander and a conditional draft pick late last February. He spent the rest of the year on the NHL roster but scored just three goals and five points in 24 games. His pattern of red-hot minor-league scoring in the AHL and minimal scoring in the NHL keeps Bemstrom in the same rut he’s spent all six years of his North American career in. He’s scored 93 points in 76 career games in the minors but has just 34 goals and 74 points across 230 games in the NHL. On the back of an extended hot streak in the minors, Bemstrom will hope this call-up is the time he finally proves his NHL worthiness.

Bunting leaves big shoes to be filled in Pittsburgh’s lineup. He’s been one of Pittsburgh’s best power-play assets, with nine goals and 14 points on the man advantage in 58 games this season. Bemstrom should be the beneficiary of the power-play opening, though it could also go to Anthony Beauvillier or Philip Tomasino. Pittsburgh’s other roster moves likely won’t carry as much weight. Nieto ceded his bottom-six role to Danton Heinen and Blake Lizotte over February, on the back of just three points in 31 games this season. Meanwhile, Imama will return to his role as Pittsburgh’s extra man – having only played in six games, with no scoring and seven penalty minutes, on the year.

Penguins’ Matt Nieto Clears Waivers

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Feb. 27: Nieto cleared waivers and can be sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.

Feb. 26: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Matthew Nieto on waivers. Should he clear waivers over the next 24 hours, the Penguins can safely reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It’s the second time in his career that Nieto has been placed on waivers and his first as a Penguin. His last time on the waiver wire came back in 2017 when Nieto was claimed off waivers from the San Jose Sharks by the Colorado Avalanche.

The news is unsurprising given Nieto has been an oft-scratched member of Pittsburgh’s forward core for much of February. Since being activated from the team’s injured reserve in mid-November, Nieto has played in 31 of the Penguins’ 42 games despite being healthy for all of them.

Similarly to last year, Nieto hasn’t been all that productive when healthy, either. Nieto signed a two-year, $1.8MM contract with Pittsburgh in the 2023-24 offseason and has scored two goals and seven points in 53 games since.

Although he’s been confined to a bottom-six role for much of his tenure in Pittsburgh, the team was likely hoping for more offensive production. He’s been a productive bottom-six scorer for much of his career with several multi-goal and 20-point campaigns, but things haven’t worked out positively in western Pennsylvania. The 12-year NHL veteran may find a home in another team’s bottom-six but odds are he’ll be packing his bags for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by tomorrow.

Penguins’ Michael Bunting Out Indefinitely Following Appendectomy

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Penguins left-winger Michael Bunting underwent surgery to remove his appendix yesterday, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He doesn’t have a timeline for a return but will miss at least a few weeks.

The 29-year-old Bunting had two points in his last five games, including an assist in Tuesday’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Flyers. He’s the third NHLer to undergo an appendectomy this season (at least among what’s been publicly disclosed), joining Ducks netminder John Gibson and Canadiens blue-liner Kaiden Guhle.

His absence is relatively insignificant for Pittsburgh at this stage of the season. Now out of the Eastern Conference playoff race and on pace to finish the season with 75 points, the Penguins will likely be selling off additional assets ahead of the trade deadline after dealing Drew O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson to the Canucks before the 4 Nations break. Bunting, signed through next season at a $4.5MM cap hit, wasn’t expected to be one of them.

Acquired from the Hurricanes in last season’s Jake Guentzel trade, Bunting has been underwhelming in 2024-25 after finishing the 2023-24 campaign with 19 points in 21 games for the Pens. He’s been durable, playing 58 of 60 games, but his point production has dropped to 14-15–29. His 0.50 points per game are tracking as his worst offensive performance in his five seasons’ worth of extended NHL ice time, accompanied by his lowest usage at 15:15 per game.

A solid complementary top-six winger for Auston Matthews during his time in Toronto, the late-blooming Bunting burst onto the scene with a 23-goal, 63-point campaign for the Leafs at age 26 in 2021-22. He had just 26 NHL games to his name with the Coyotes before signing a two-year, $1.9MM deal in Toronto in the 2021 offseason, arguably the highest-value contract in the league during his time in the Canadian metropolis. He’s struggled to replicate that level play in a similar role alongside Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, though, despite how promising his scorching finish to the 2023-24 campaign was. The duo hasn’t had a consistent right-winger this year, seeing names like Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass, and Philip Tomasino rotate through. With Bunting and Malkin on the ice together, the Pens have been outscored 19-10 at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick. They’ve each fared far better apart from each other.

If Gibson’s and Guhle’s return timelines are any indication, Bunting should miss around four to six weeks. That means he should be back in the lineup with a few games left on the Penguins’ schedule, although it’s fair to describe his likelihood of returning this season as uncertain.

Pittsburgh’s injury list is relatively brief. Bryan Rust recently returned from a lower-body injury and illness, and recent AHL call-up Bokondji Imama is the only other forward carrying an injury designation. He’s on IR but could come off today to face the Flyers after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Bunting’s absence, however, could mean the Penguins wait before demoting Matthew Nieto to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears waivers today.

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