Tommy Novak had himself a solid season last year. What's in store for him this year?
Forward Tommy Novak completed his first full season as a Pittsburgh Penguin this past year, and it went well, finishing with 16 goals and 42 points in 82 games.
There were times when he'd be inconsistent, but he still had a very respectable season. He played up and down the lineup, having his best success centering Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov on the second line.
He did a great job distributing the puck to both players and showcasing his vision each time he was out there. He also showed off his release, which is the most underrated aspect of his game. It's something I want to see more out of him this year as he searches for his first 20-goal season.
Novak was set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season before signing a three-year extension with the Penguins last week. It caught some fans by surprise, since he could've been used as trade bait at next year's trade deadline if the Penguins were out of the race, but they see him as part of their future.
With that in mind, I expect to see him as the Penguins' second-line center this season after how great that line was in the second half of the season. Malkin can still play center when he's healthy, and he'll probably take at least some reps there during the year, but I still think Novak will get more of the nods there while Malkin will be on the wing more often.
As far as production goes, I'd like to see Novak hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. His career-high in goals is 18, after finishing the 2023-24 season with 18 goals and 45 points in 71 games. If he can cut down on a couple of stretches from last year where he didn't produce much, I think he'll have a decent shot of hitting that milestone this year.
Novak will also get time on the power play after spending 96:54 on the unit last season. Most of that time was spent on PP2 since PP1 is reserved for the big guns. Five of Novak's 16 goals came on the man advantage, and he'll look to do even better than that this year.
The one special teams unit that Novak doesn't play on is the penalty kill. He has spent less than 10 combined minutes on the PK during his career and it will likely stay that way unless the Penguins' coaching staff has a change of heart going into this year.
I'd like to see Novak finish the season with around 20 goals and 50 points. That's super doable for him, especially since both of his linemates are returning. If he can do that, it'll go a long way towards the Penguins returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second year in a row.
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