The moves have started. Kyle Dubas was active last night and made a trade that seemingly fits what he has been trying to do the past year, collect team controlled players who might have more to give. He did this by sending Michael Bunting and a 4th round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn

The Penguins have acquired defenseman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak from @PredsNHL in exchange for Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.

Details: https://t.co/lW7fiPpE9i pic.twitter.com/HQZ66s2Vxs

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 6, 2025

I don’t really have an appetite for acquiring players like Luke Schenn. He’s the whatever part of the deal. The focal point is Tommy Novak. Novak is a soon to be 28 year old player who has shown signs of being a quality depth scoring option. The Penguins have struggled immensely with their depth scoring for years now and this is a move looking to try and make that situation better. Here’s Novak’s NHL history per Hockey-Reference

You can see he has shown the ability to chip in offensively at a very respectable rate for a depth player. The nice thing about Novak is it isn’t just the tangible offense. His underlying impacts are also positive.

Novak's having a dismal season but there's talent there, especially with quick-striking off the rush. His thing in Nashville was always starting the year slow & going on a tear in the second half. Also one of the few guys I've seen becoming a scorer in the NHL after never doing that at any level.

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— Corey Sznajder (@allthreezones.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 9:49 PM

Novak is currently in the first year of a three-year deal which pays him 3.5M annually. This is a really nice price point which comes with some term. I like the Penguins targeting this player type. On its own it isn’t ground breaking, but you start to pile up and add other functional players and then you start to turn the corner into being competitive for the playoffs again.

Here’s what Dubas had to say about things

#LetsGoPens President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas gave his thoughts on Wednesday's trades involving Michael Bunting and Vincent Desharnais.

And these are moves that bode well for the Penguins' future.

Read more:

@thehockeynews.bsky.social #NHL #THN
thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsbur...

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— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelseysurmacz4.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM

We looked at the two trades in totality - Desharnais, Bunting, and a pick for Novak, Schenn, and a pick," Dubas said via email. "The motivation being that Tommy was younger, under team control for an additional season over [Bunting], carried a lower cap charge, and is primarily a center. We felt that carried a large amount of value as we move ahead here with our plans."

We like Tommy's ability to control play, generate scoring chances for himself and others, and produce at even strength. Nashville did a great job with his development over the years, and he blossomed into a very solid player for them. He has been on our priority list for a few years now here, and we feel his mobility, playmaking, and production as a center provides us a great option in the years ahead.

The trade is good value considering Michale Bunting was turning into more or less a power play merchant with the Penguins. His even-strength play wasn’t the strongest.

Haven't really kept up with Bunting or Pittsburgh this year, let's take a look at his car-OH GOD.

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— Corey Sznajder (@allthreezones.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 9:49 PM

By moving Bunting we can add Novak to the Guentzel trade tree in which the Penguins now have Novak, Harrison Brunicke, Vasily Ponomarev, and Ville Koivunen to show for the trade.

As for the Luke Schenn part of the deal, I don’t believe this is a situation where the Penguins got him to flip him, even if that is what I think should be done. It appears he is going to be a part of the team moving forward

We feel that having Luke's defensive play, character, leadership, toughness, and spirit is something we need here to help push our program through this phase and preserve our culture and standards as we work to return to contention," Dubas said. "We believe the way he plays and the way he carries himself each day will be very well-received by Penguins fans and the city of Pittsburgh.

There’s saying nice things about the player you just acquired because that’s what you do and then there’s going above and beyond with praise like this. Reading those comments has me firmly believing Schenn will not be moved by Friday. I would be fine being wrong.

There’s still plenty more for Dubas to do in the next day and a half. This was a nice start.

Thanks for reading!

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