Devils Sign Tomas Nosek to One-Year Contract

The New Jersey Devils continue to load up this off-season, bringing on forward Tomas Nosek on a one-year, $1-million deal on Wednesday.

Nosek, 30, is entering his ninth season of NHL action after spending the last two seasons with the Boston Bruins. The 6-foot-3 winger recorded seven goals and tied a season-high 18 points in 66 games last season while averaging 12:33 of ice time per game.

Nosek played a larger role on the penalty kill last season, averaging 2:33 of shorthanded ice time per game, which ranked him second among Bruins forwards in that category. 

Despite playing on the wing, Nosek also put up respectable faceoff stats, winning 354 of his 597 draws last season, a 59.3 win percentage that ranked third in Boston.

The Pardubice, Czechia, native now heads to the Devils, tied for the NHL's fourth-best penalty kill in 2022-23 and arguably one of the league's most improved teams this off-season. One of New Jersey's top penalty-killers at forward, Yegor Sharangovich, was traded to the Calgary Flames during the 2023 NHL draft in a package for Tyler Toffoli, who is no shorthanded specialist.

Signing Nosek for $1 million is cheaper than the two-year pact he signed with the Bruins, which was worth $1,750,000 per season. That deal came on the opening day of the 2021 NHL free agency, where Nosek cashed in on the 18 points he recorded in 38 games with the Vegas Golden Knights. This time around, it took 19 days for him to get a contract. 

At least Nosek's been consistent, putting up between 15 to 18 points in each season since 2017-18. The most games he's played in one campaign is 75 games with Boston in 2021-22, but besides that year and the shortened 2020-21 season, Nosek tends to appear in 66 to 68 contests.

After reaching 101 career points last season, the undrafted forward will look for another milestone in 2023-24, currently at 398 regular-season NHL games split between the Detroit Red Wings, Golden Knights and Bruins.