The Pittsburgh Penguins are entering this upcoming season with plenty of players to keep an eye on. With the team in the middle of a retool, they will be hoping that some of their players will hit new levels for them this upcoming campaign.
Recently, NHL.com's Pete Jensen revealed who he believes is the Pittsburgh Penguins' top fantasy hockey breakout candidate for the 2025-26 season: forward Tommy Novak.
Novak appeared in 55 games this past season split between the Nashville Predators and Penguins, where he recorded 13 goals, 22 points, and a minus-5 rating. However, he was a Penguin for only two of those games, as a lower-body injury ended his season shortly after the Penguins. Yet, now with the new season almost here, Novak will be looking to make a big impact with Pittsburgh.
When looking at Novak's past success, it is understandable that Jensen sees the Penguins forward potentially hitting a new level in 2025-26. Just back in 2023-24 with the Predators, Novak recorded career highs with 18 goals, 27 assists, and 45 points in 71 games. This was after the St. Paul, Minnesota native broke out with the Predators in 2022-23, posting 17 goals and 43 points in 51 games. With numbers like these, there is no question that Novak has offensive upside, and it will be interesting to see if he can tap into it more during his first full season as a Penguin from here.
If Novak can take that next step with his game and emerge as a true top-six forward, it would be significant for a Penguins team that needs serious help on offense. It will be interesting to see if Novak can do just that in 2025-26 with the Metropolitan Division club from here.
