Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill was not waiting for the deadline, yet again, as the Stars traded for forward Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a third-round pick on Thursday afternoon. The pick is actually the 2026 third rounder that Dallas received from the Seattle Kraken in the summer trade for Mason Marchment.

Bunting comes with a $4.5 million AAV but is a pending unrestricted free agent. The Stars have $2 million remaining of their LTIR money.

Bunting is 30, plays a solid overall game, and can add some offense. He has 13 goals and 31 points in 18 games on a Nashville team that was struggling for most of the season up until recently. Bunting has two 20-goal seasons under his belt with the Toronto Maple Leafs and should be able to play at a pace around at least 15 down the stretch.

He is, like Blake Coleman would have been, a middle-six forward. But, like Coleman, he has a bit more offensive upside than most middle six, is likely an upgrade over the current options in certain spots of the top six for Dallas, and could potentially move up and down the lineup to fill some holes. Coleman’s asking price from the Flames was likely too high, as lower-level depth forward cost a team a first-round pick earlier today. Mix that with his one remaining season and decent-sized cap hit, and it becomes obvious why Bunting was the right choice.

“Michael is a tremendous addition to our roster,” Nill said in a team statement on Thursday. “His goal scoring ability mixed with physicality makes him extremely tough to play against. We are looking forward to seeing him on the ice in Dallas.” 

Plenty more to come on ALLDLLS.com and our DLLS Trade Deadline show Friday at 2 pm CT.