Putting together a starting lineup is hockey is like putting together puzzle, and the Nashville Predators may have found a perfect match with a few pieces that we didn't see coming early in the offseason with Jonathan Marchessault being a central piece.
The Predators stood by their practice line rushes leading up to the season-opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and running Marchessult on the third line with Erik Haula at center and Michael Bunting on the other wing certainly raised some eyebrows. And it didn't take long for this line of misfits to put the first goal of 2025-26 on the scoreboard.
Jonathan Marchessault on the Nashville Predators 3rd Line to Open the Season isn't something anyone could've predicted back in the early offseason
This is hoping to be Nashville's energy line in the early going of the season with all three guys being players that are known for their high motors, energy and ability to get under the skin of the other team.
Bunting got the goal after pushing the puck into the zone and doing what he does best, which is create some chaos. After a deflected puck found its way back to the wheelhouse of Bunting's stick, he delivered the laser of a goal.
What a beauty for our first goal of 2025 🤩 pic.twitter.com/G59bzxjnQ4
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 10, 2025
The underlying metrics, aside from the goal by Bunting, does leave more to be desired. On the defensive side of things, while on the ice together this line surrendered eight shots on goal against while only producing four of their own. They did spent the most ice time together at 10 minutes compared to their other forward lines on the Predaors.
When the Predators traded for Haula over the offseason, it looked like the New Jersey Devils kind of fleeced them with a salary cap dump. However, it makes more sense now that GM Barry Trotz wanted more veteran leadership and more physicality in the bottom six. There was also an obvious need to add another center, and Haula can play both center and wing.
Bunting on the other hand is viewed as a short-term rental that could easily end up not even finishing this season in a Predators uniform. The more likely expectation is that Bunting gets traded before hitting unrestricted free agency next offseason. He just turned 30-years-old, so he is definitely playing for his next NHL destination and to increase his trade value.
The ony way I see Bunting sticking around and not traded by Nashville is if the team is vastly outperforming their preseason expectations and winning at a high level and Bunting is a main catalyst as to why. Seems far-fetched, but there's no denying that he fits well on the third line with Haula and Marchessault. At least for now.
We'll see how long Head Coach Andrew Burnette sticks with this line, but I would think he keeps it together for the next few games while Brady Martin plays out his nine games and the team awaits the return of Matthew Wood, who is currently on IR but has already resumed skating.
Luke Evangelista missed the season-opener with his immigration status still being processed after his contract negotiations dragged out all the way to the end of training camp. Once he is back into the lineup, he'll likely see top-six minutes and Marchessault might stick around for longer on this third line experiment.
It will be interesting to track how this line performs in the first few games of this season if indeed Burnette keeps them together. He found something that clicks, then he should stick with it until Martin moves out of the lineup after his nine games and goes back to the OHL.
After Martin is moved out, then you'll have a need for Marchessault back in the top-six, unless they're confident in Evangelista or Wood taking top line minutes and move Ryan O'Reilly back to his 1C role. That is a possible scenario that could arise in the coming weeks if this third line produces such positive results that you don't want to break them up.
As of now and for the next few games, this unlikely third line with Marchessault taking a third line role with two other veterans is the energy line that Nashville needs to open this season.