The New Jersey Devils have bolstered their group bottom-six forwards, signing free agent Tomas Nosek to a one-year, $1MM contract.
According to CapFriendly, the deal leaves New Jersey with just over $2MM in cap space remaining, and the team still has to sign restricted free agent Kevin Bahl to a contract for next season.
This contract represents a decrease in pay for Nosek, who made $1.75MM against the cap last season. Nosek’s pay cut is far more likely to have been caused by the leaguewide lack of cap space rather than any decline in Nosek’s on-ice value from one year ago.
In fact, one could argue Nosek’s value has reached the highest point of his career. A six-foot-three undrafted Czech center, Nosek spent last season as the Boston Bruins’ main fourth-line center.
He occupied that role as the Bruins went on a historically successful regular-season run, and his defensive abilities played a part in their success. He won nearly 60% of his 597 faceoffs this past season, showcasing some value at the faceoff dot.
Nosek played the second-most minutes of any forward on Boston’s penalty kill, a unit that was the league’s best, killing penalties at an 87.3% success rate.
That 87.3% kill rate is the NHL’s second-best since the 2012-13 lockout season, and is a significant feather in Nosek’s cap. Although he’s never even reached the 20-point plateau in the NHL, Nosek brings the type of value many teams want to see from their fourth-liners. He brings size, defensive ability, the versatility to play center or wing, and significant playoff experience.
Impressively, Nosek’s teams have played playoff hockey in every single year he’s been an NHL regular. And in Nosek’s final year in the AHL, he scored 22 points in 19 postseason games for the Grand Rapids Griffins and became a Calder Cup champion.
The Devils want to take the next step in their cup contention process and go on a long playoff run. Nosek will undoubtedly help them in that pursuit.
New Jersey lost Miles Wood to Colorado in free agency, and Nosek doesn’t offer the same blend of size, speed, and scoring touch that Wood brought. But at this $1MM cost, there are few players left on the open market who can offer as meaningful an addition to the Devils’ roster as Nosek.
He could join Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian to make a formidable fourth line for head coach Lindy Ruff. In addition, Nosek is likely to take Yegor Sharangovich’s vacated spot on New Jersey’s penalty kill, bolstering a unit that was already among the NHL’s best last season. At this price, there isn’t really a way to view this signing as anything other than an absolute positive for the Devils.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Wonder if this means something is going to happen with McLeod
The Devils have chosen…. wisely.
Don Sweeney would rather spend money on a stiff like Lucic instead of resigning a play who’s pretty damn good for us last ur on D and the penalty kill pathetic
Do the Bruins have some secret group of centers that we don’t know about?
They have a few in the prospect pool but they have plenty of forwards they could bring up to play Lucic’s min’s the only time a team needs a guy like is in the playoffs