Penguins Acquire Defenseman Luke Schenn and Forward Tommy Novak from Nashville in Exchange for Michael Bunting and a 2026 Fourth-Round Draft Pick
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Schenn, 35, is signed through the 2025-26 season and carries an average annual value of $2.75 million. Novak, 27, is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries an average annual value of $3.5 million.
Schenn, a veteran of 17 NHL seasons, has played in 61 games for the Predators this season, tallying one goal, four assists and five points. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound defenseman has skated in 1,057 NHL games since 2008, split between Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim, Vancouver, Tampa Bay and Nashville and has recorded 203 career points (44G-159A). The two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Lightning in 2020 and ’21 has skated in 47 career playoff games and tallied seven points (3G-4A).
Since his NHL debut in 2008, Schenn’s 3,588 hits are the third most throughout the entire league and first among all blueliners.
Prior to turning professional, Schenn played three seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Kelowna Rockets from 2005-08, registering 68 points (12G-56A) in 189 games.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native has represented his country on the international level at the 2007 World Under-18 Championship, 2008 World Junior Championship, as well as four World Championships (2009, ’11, ’12 & ’13).
Schenn was originally drafted fifth overall by Toronto in 2008.
Novak, 27, is in his fourth season in the NHL, all of which have come with the Predators. The 6-foot-1, 179-pound forward has suited up in 52 games in 2024-25, registering 13 goals, nine assists and 22 points. His 13 goals ranked fifth on Nashville, while his 22 points were sixth best.
In 201 career NHL contests, Novak has recorded 49 goals, 68 assists, 117 points and six game-winning goals. Since making his NHL debut, only three Predators have scored more goals or notched more points than Novak. His best season came during the 2023-24 campaign where he set career highs across the board in goals (18), assists (27) and points (45).
The native of St. Paul, Minnesota was drafted by Nashville in the third round (85th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. Prior to being drafted, Novak played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota from 2015-19.
After sending its 2026 fourth-round draft pick to Nashville, Pittsburgh has 27 selections over the next three NHL drafts, which includes four first-round selections and 15 picks in the first three rounds. No team has more draft picks, or selections in the first three rounds, over the next three NHL Drafts than Pittsburgh.
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NHL
Penguins get: Forward Tommy Novak, defenseman Luke Schenn
Predators get: Forward Michael Bunting, fourth-round pick in 2026
Sean Gentille: Tommy Novak is the best player involved in this deal. If that signpost matters to you — and it probably should — the Penguins are your winner. Beyond that, two bad teams exchanged a few players who are varying degrees of mediocre. See you on Friday morning, when more important stuff is sure to go down.
Penguins grade: C
Predators grade: D
Shayna Goldman: This is … a trade. What’s a deadline without a head-scratcher to shake things up?
Penguins grade: C+
Predators grade: D+
