When the Predators signed center Tommy Novak to a three-year $10.5 million contract in March 2024, there was plenty of optimism about his future.

The Preds’ 2015 third-round pick was in the midst of a hot stretch, one that saw him finish the 2023-24 season with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in his last 33 games, helping push Nashville into the NHL playoffs.

But one year and one day after investing in Novak as part of the future, the Preds said goodbye, trading him to Pittsburgh along with defenseman Luke Schenn on Wednesday as part of a deal that brought forward Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick to Nashville.

So what happened to change things so drastically for the 27-year-old Novak, who totaled a combined 88 points (35 goals, 53 assists) in 122 contests during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons?

The cracks appeared as soon as April 2024, when the Preds met the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs. Predators coach Andrew Brunette didn’t have much confidence in Novak’s play in his own zone, and with each puck possession at a premium, the coach only gave Novak an average of 10:31 ice time in the six contests.

The second strike came early this season, when Novak failed to grab one of the team’s top two center roles. He got the first opportunity to center newcomers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, as Brunette hoped to keep together the trio of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist that was so effective in 2023-24.

But Novak never really looked comfortable in the role. And despite a decent start numbers-wise — three goals in his first six games — he was quickly dropped to a bottom-six role. It certainly didn’t help that Novak went 15 games without a point, during a stretch that ran from late October into early December.

“I wish I could give you a real clear answer [as to why Novak wasn’t able to secure a center role on one of the top two lines],” Preds General Manager Barry Trotz said Thursday. “It could be a little bit of intimidation of some of the players he may [have played] with. There is a different pressure that comes with higher expectations.”

Trotz explained that things might have come easier for Novak when he had been playing on the third or fourth line, sheltered from other top lines and top defensive pairings.

“When you move up the lineup, it’s harder to in fact find your space and be productive,” Trotz said. “If you want to move up the lineup and get paid more, there’s a responsibility. There is a reason guys get the higher salaries, because most nights they’re getting harder matchups, they’re expected to produce, all that.”

Novak was certainly not the only Predators player to struggle this year, as the team has delivered well below the lofty expectations that came with signing Stamkos and Marchessault.

Still, Brunette said Thursday he was disappointed the team wasn’t able to help Novak find the same production this season as last, especially with Nashville so needy at center. Novak posted 13 goals and nine assists in 52 contests this season.

“I think [we] gave him really good opportunities to grab that second center [spot],” Brunette said. “He just couldn’t get his game going, to sustain it. Like a lot of our team, we just had a hard time grabbing it.

“Kind of started a little bit in the playoffs last year and it kind of carried over to this year, where he had trouble kind of finding space. Tommy’s a great kid. When he goes, our team goes. It’s brutally evident if I look at the games when he’s going.”

Brunette placed some of the blame for Novak’s struggles on himself as well.

“I wish both [Novak and Schenn] the best where they’re going,” Brunette said. “As a coach, you always feel you’re a little bit of a failure there, and, you know, I failed Tommy a little bit here. Hopefully he finds it.”

In Bunting, the Predators get a player that might be a better fit for Brunette’s system, an abrasive at times forechecker who also has a scoring touch. He’s totaled at least 19 goals in each of the last three seasons, and Bunting registered 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 58 contests for Pittsburgh this season.

Bunting is on injured reserve at present, as he recovers from the appendectomy he underwent Feb. 27.

“Yeah, I think [Bunting] is probably a player we don’t have a lot of,” Brunette said. “He’s really good around the net, greasy around the net. He’ll go to the hard areas. He’ll start some stuff up. He’s offensively pretty gifted down low in the offensive zone, and we’re missing a little bit of that inside presence, so I’m looking forward to what he brings.”