Stars land Bunting from Predators in 2nd deal ahead of deadline

The Dallas Stars acquired forward Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators for a 2026 third-round pick Thursday.

Bunting, 30, is the second player the Stars acquired ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, joining defenseman Tyler Myers, who was acquired Wednesday from the Vancouver Canucks.

With 13 goals and 31 points in 61 games, Bunting is in the final season of a three-year deal worth $4.5 million annually. He will provide Dallas with another two-way forward who can play top-nine minutes with the idea that he could be used on the second-team power-play unit.

Bunting joins a Stars team that has three forwards on injured reserve — Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen — while Tyler Seguin, who hasn’t played since December, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Still, the Stars (38-14-9) entered Thursday as the hottest team in the NHL, winning 10 straight games heading into Friday’s home matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Stars are second in the Central Division and trail the Avs by six points.

It’s a contrast from the Predators (27-26-8), who are five points behind the Seattle Kraken for the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Nashville has lost three straight games and five of its past six. This week has seen the club trade defenseman Nick Blankenburg, forward Michael McCarron, forward Cole Smith and now Bunting in exchange for draft capital.