Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Thomas Novak

Penguins Notes: Free Agency, Leone, Novak

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Penguins will enter this summer with around $24.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  At first glance, given their veteran core, it could be inferred that Pittsburgh could be active on the open market to try add a couple of pieces to boost their chances of getting back to the playoffs next season.  However, speaking with reporters Friday including Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Kyle Dubas indicated that he doesn’t expect to be particularly active in free agency unless they’d be getting one of the younger players who deserves some term on a contract.  Instead, he noted that Pittsburgh is likely to be more active on the trade front and that discussions on that front have picked up recently.  No team has more draft picks over the next three years than the Penguins so it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of them converted into players or prospects who are closer to being NHL-ready in the coming weeks.

More from Pittsburgh:

  • In a recent episode of The Sheet (video link), Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek suggested that Mike Leone could be a candidate to join Dan Muse’s coaching staff. Leone spent this season as head coach of the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester, leading them to the North Division Final.  However, Leone’s professional coaching experience is rather limited with just this season and one year as an ECHL assistant after retiring in 2017.  He has, however, also worked at the NCAA and USHL levels along with USA Hockey at the junior level and would be an intriguing addition as a coach to help in player development.
  • Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review previews the upcoming year for center Thomas Novak. Acquired from Nashville near the trade deadline, this season was a bit underwhelming for the 28-year-old who managed just 22 points in 54 games after passing the 40-point mark the previous two campaigns.  Novak only played twice after being acquired before sustaining an undisclosed injury but it’s fair to say that the Penguins will be counting on him to get back to that 40-point range as a key secondary scorer, an element that was a little hit-or-miss for Pittsburgh this year.

East Notes: Bruins, Greaves, Cousins, Penguins

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Bruins are shutting down defenseman Charlie McAvoy and center Mark Kastelic for the final week of the season, relays Boston.com’s Conor Ryan (Twitter link).  Interim head coach Joe Sacco indicated that both players are making progress from their respective injuries but will run out of time before the year comes to an end.  McAvoy has missed the last two months with a shoulder injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off; his year comes to an end with just 23 points in 50 games, the lowest point total of his eight-year NHL career.  As for Kastelic, he has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body issue.  He finishes with a career-best 14 points in 61 games while chipping in with 128 hits, earning him a three-year, $4.7MM extension in early January.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • With Elvis Merzlikins unavailable for tonight’s must-win game against Buffalo, the Blue Jackets announced the recall of Jet Greaves from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis. The 24-year-old has been up with Columbus several times this season, posting a 2.83 GAA and a .905 SV% in six outings heading into today’s action.  He has a 2.62 GAA and a .910 SV% in 40 games with the Monsters and with Daniil Tarasov struggling, Greaves got the start against the Sabres.
  • Senators winger Nick Cousins was a full participant in practice today and hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s game against Montreal, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Originally expected to miss at least three months after suffering a knee injury in late January, it looks like the 31-year-old will be able to beat that by a couple of weeks at least.  Ottawa will have to make a roster move in order to activate Cousins off LTIR as they don’t have the cap space to add him back to the roster otherwise.  Cousins has 13 points and 80 hits in 47 games this season.
  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that forwards Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Rutger McGroarty, Matthew Nieto, and Thomas Novak are all being shut down for the final few games of the season. Those players being out provide the context for the three players Pittsburgh recalled earlier today.  Of the absences, McGroarty is the most notable as he had been given a bigger role since being recalled late last month, logging over 16 minutes a night while playing on the top line as the Penguins hoped to give one of their top prospects a good look down the stretch but that look winds up being shorter than expected.

Injury Notes: Tkachuk, Guenther, Thrun, Penguins

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Ottawa Senators will be without team captain Brady Tkachuk for a second straight game on Thursday night per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Senators head coach Travis Green told Garrioch that there was no update on Tkachuk’s injury after his first missed game. The top-line forward continues to carry a day-to-day injury designation after sustaining an upper-body injury in the overtime period of Ottawa’s Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ottawa suffered a tough 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres without Tkachuk on Tuesday. Fabian Zetterlund held onto a top-line role, and David Perron into a second-line role, in Tkachuk’s absence. Perron has managed four goals and five points over his last 10 games, while Zetterlund has recorded just one assist – hardly enough to make up for Tkachuk’s 11 points in 15 games since the start of march. The Senators’ captain is up to 29 goals and 55 points in 71 games on the season. Tkachuk is on pace for 64 points on the season – which would be the lowest he’s scored since breaking out with 67 points in the 2021-22 campaign. But even in a down year, the Senators will need to find a way to make up for Tkachuk’s net-front presence in his absence. They currently have a firm grip of the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Utah Hockey Club forward Dylan Guenther is going to stick in the lineup despite breaking his nose in Tuesday night’s loss to the Florida Panthers, shares Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. Guenther took a puck to the face but opted to play through Tuesday’s game, telling Fraser after that his nose is a far away from his legs after the game. He added earlier today that he had to get nine stitches and that his breathing is at about 70 percent, but neither fact will hold him out of the lineup on Thursday. Guenther has three points in his last five games, and a dazzling 26 goals and 52 points in 63 games this season. He stands as Utah’s leading goal scorer – at the young age of 21 – and should continue to contribute to Utah’s playoff race. Utah currently sits nine points out of the Western Conference’s second Wild Card, with one game in hand.
  • San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun has confirmed that he’ll be returning to the lineup on Thursday, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. Thrun has been out of the lineup since February 27th with an upper-body injury, save for making a spot start on March 8th where he reaggravated his injury. Thrun was finding his NHL legs in the games leading up to his injury, and even played in a career-high 24 minutes of action in San Jose’s February 24th loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He’s recorded 10 points, 30 penalty minutes, and a minus-16 in 52 games this season. Those marks fall just narrowly shy of his 11 points, 16 penalty minutes, and a minus-22 in 51 games last season. Thrun is expected to return to San Jose’s third pair alongside veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic on Thursday.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins embarked on a three-game road trip on Thursday. They brought with them star Evgeni Malkin, who hasn’t played since March 23rd, while leaving behind Thomas Novak and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, per Penguins play-by-play voice Josh Getzoff. The pair of depth skaters will be forced to miss the next few games with undisclosed injuries. In the meantime, Malkin will look to make his return on Pittsburgh’s final multi-game road trip of the season. He’s continued to be a force in the Penguins lineup, with 15 goals and 46 points in 62 games this season. That’s the lowest scoring pace of Malkin’s career, though he still ranks fifth on the team in total scoring. Of the missing duo, only Joseph has managed a point – netting one assist in 24 games -while Novak has no scoring in two games with Pittsburgh. With two holes to fill, Pittsburgh is expected to enter Joona Koppanen and Ryan Shea back into the lineup.

East Notes: Hurricanes, Penguins, Sabres

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Hurricanes have taken some big swings on the trade front the last couple of years, landing Jake Guentzel at the 2023 trade deadline and Mikko Rantanen earlier this season.  But they weren’t able to sign either one with Rantanen subsequently being flipped.  Despite not being able to sign either one, GM Eric Tulsky indicated in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he is more than willing to take another big swing on a prominent pending UFA should the opportunity present itself down the road, even without an extension in place.  Tulsky believes that the team is usually able to keep the players that they want to and more often than not, the interest is mutual so in his mind, the odds should be good that they can get something done whenever they make a move to add another key rental in the future.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided updates on a few injured Penguins. Defensemen Pierre-Oliver Joseph (upper body) and Ryan Shea (upper body) both skated before practice today while center Thomas Novak (lower body) has yet to hit the ice after being injured last week.  Joseph was injured at the beginning of the month and quickly landed on IR while Shea was injured last week.  Both blueliners have week-to-week designations while a timeline for Novak’s return remains uncertain.
  • While the Sabres didn’t have JJ Peterka back in the lineup tonight against Boston, he’s on track to return on Thursday versus Utah, reports Lance Lysowski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Peterka has been one of Buffalo’s top scorers all season with 51 points in 61 games and while a playoff chase isn’t going to happen, the 23-year-old is a pending restricted free agent and will undoubtedly be hoping for a strong finish heading into contract talks.  Meanwhile, Lysowski added that blueliner Jacob Bernard-Docker should make his Buffalo debut at some point on their four-game road trip.  He was acquired at the trade deadline but only recently received his work visa to start skating with the team so he’ll need a few practices to get up to speed first.

East Notes: Jones, Peterka, Novak

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Due to the recent 20-game suspension to Florida Panthers’ defenseman Aaron Ekblad for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, the team needed a new first-line powerplay quarterback and top-pairing defenseman. As expected, that distinction will go to newly acquired defenseman Seth Jones.

It’ll be a familiar role for Jones, who operated as such over four years with the Chicago Blackhawks and several years with the Columbus Blue Jackets. 146 out of Jones’s 432 career points have come with the man advantage, and that number should continue to grow on the league’s 12th-ranked powerplay.

Florida may face some significant challenges at even strength. Fortunately, Jones will have one of the league’s fastest and most defensively effective players alongside him in Gustav Forsling. Based on his past performance, it’s clear that Jones will require a defensive partner who can help alleviate some of the responsibilities in the defensive zone. According to MoneyPuck, Jones’s on-ice goals percentage has steadily dropped from 55.1% in 2018-19 to 44.0% this season with Chicago.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Buffalo Sabres could be without one of their top offensive players tomorrow evening. Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reported earlier that John-Jason Peterka is dealing with a lower-body injury and could miss tomorrow’s game against the waning Detroit Red Wings. Peterka is again challenging for the team lead in points, scoring 19 goals and 51 points in 61 games, only five points behind Tage Thompson.
  • Thomas Novak, a recent acquisition for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com. Given the game’s proximity, it’s assumed that Novak suffered the injury in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Novak has gone scoreless through his first two games as a Penguin, managing a -2 rating while averaging 13:01 of ice time per game.

Bruins Could Turn To Trade Market For Spark

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The Boston Bruins have finally acknowledged how underwhelming their season has been, becoming the first team to fire a head coach this season when they let go all-time single-season wins record holder Jim Montgomery. Associate coach and penalty-kill expert Joe Sacco has been promoted in his place. That move is likely to bring a wave of defense to a Bruins lineup that’s tied for the third-most goals-against this season. But general manager Don Sweeney isn’t waiting around for hypotheticals, with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reporting that the team is simultaneously exploring the trade market for a potential spark.

LeBrun said Sweeney isn’t beating around the bush, directly calling out the poor play of new additions like Elias Lindholm – who Boston signed a seven-year, $54.25MM contract with Boston this summer. He’s followed that deal with just two goals and nine points through Boston’s first 20 games. That’s miles away from the production of the true top-line center that Lindholm was signed to be, and his rank of third on the team in scoring underlines just how bad the offense has been. LeBrun, not Sweeney, also pointed to the struggles of goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who leads the league in goals-against (47) in just 14 games. That equates to an .884 save percentage and 3.47 goals-against-average – perhaps the very last thing Boston expected when they went through rounds of contract negotiations during training camp.

The woes continue with Sweeney’s other gut calls. Defender Nikita Zadorov only has five assists in 20 games – and leads the league in penalty minutes (46) – and forward Max Jones hasn’t scored once in four appearances. It’s not all bad for the lineup – in fact, the breakout of bottom-six fixtures like Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke, and Mark Kastelic would cause celebration anywhere else – but it’s clear that the team is completely missing their engine. They’ve done little to restock the cupboards since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci stepped down from their posts, instead casting a wide net for depth forwards and hoping for the best.

Should Boston pursue a trade, it’d almost certainly be for a high-impact, top-six forward. Where they’ll find a team willing to part with a major piece is less clear. Seattle Kraken centerman Yanni Gourde has popped up in early trade rumors, though his seven points in 20 games wouldn’t bring the spark Boston needs. Gourde did score 25 goals and 64 points on the 2017-18 Tampa Bay Lightning, and has hit 48 points three times since – though he’s failed to pass the half-century mark. The Bruins have been leaning into grit and physicality amid their struggles, evident by their recent call-ups – both pieces that Gourde brings in abundance.

But Gourde won’t carry Boston’s top-line, still leaving a glaring hole in what was supposed to be Lindholm’s role. That may necessitate a more brazen trade, like attempting to acquire hard-nosed Nashville Predators center Thomas Novak, who’s missed a handful of games to injury this season and only posted four points in the 14 games he has played. That’s far below the 18 goals and 45 points Novak posted last season, which was itself an improvement on 43 points the year before. Novak has been square in the middle of a Predators’ middle-six that simply isn’t working – but his gritty style and finishing ability would both be heralded by this Bruins club.

If Don Sweeney is truly looking to push all his chips in, he could also target former superstar prospect Shane Wright, who’s been healthy scratched in Seattle’s last two games after scoring just two points in 18 games this season. Wright has yet to find it out at the top level, now standing at nine points through 34 career games – contrary to his 60 points in 71 total AHL games last season. Wright’s talent has never been questioned, but his fit in Seattle is starting to look quickly uncomfortable. For the right price – likely a hefty package with plenty of draft capital – Boston could try to steal away the 20-year-old burgeoning star, and put him in a far better spot to succeed between David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.

So early into the season, it’s hard to gauge which top forwards could actually be pried away from their lineup. The Bruins will wait to see how things go under Sacco before making any large moves. But a strong array of centermen should await Don Sweeney on the trade market, with the limiting factor being Boston’s wallet – and underbaked assets – more than the options ahead of them. They’ll have to push the boundaries of the budget to pull out of a difficult 8-9-3 start to the year.

Central Notes: Predators, Novak, Wild, Hall, Stanley

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Originally announced in Elliotte Friedman’s ’32 Thoughts’ and expanded upon by Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean, the Nashville Predators are looking to buy. The Predators are looking to claw their way out of an early 6-10-3 record after spending $108MM on Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei this past offseason.

Friedman suggests Nashville is looking to add a top-four defenseman with term and a center to no surprise. In our recent diagnosis of the issues plaguing Nashville, a second-line center and a top-four defenseman topped the list of priorities.

The Predators have used a combination of Juuso Parssinen and Colton Sissons as the team’s second-line centers to unfortunate results. The two have combined for seven points this season and simply haven’t generated the offense required to keep them in the top six long-term. The defensive pairing of Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier have combined for an abysmal 39.2% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck despite playing the most minutes of any defensive pair on the roster.

Other Central notes:

  • Nashville could get a boost to their second line in the form of forward Thomas Novak who’s expected to return tonight after missing the team’s last six games (X Link). Novak has disappointed like many players on the Predators with three goals and four points in 13 games but is only a year removed from scoring 35 goals and 88 points in 122 games for Nashville.
  • There’s no long-term injury concern for either Joel Eriksson Ek or Jonas Brodin for the Minnesota Wild. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that both players are still waiting on medical clearance but should be available for tomorrow night’s contest. Eriksson Ek has only missed the last game for the Wild while Brodin has missed the past two.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks made a surprising move in their most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday as they made forward Taylor Hall a healthy scratch. He’s had a subpar season for his standards scoring two goals and six points through 17 contests. Still, the scratch caught him off guard with Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN quoting Hall saying, “I was surprised by it. It was unexpected from the standpoint of I just didn’t know I was even close to being in that spot, really. If there were some conversations in the days leading up about my game or if I was constantly being shown video it would be one thing, but I was a bit surprised.”
  • There was good news on the blue line for the Winnipeg Jets this afternoon with the team sharing that Ville Heinola has been activated off the team’s injured reserve. Still, it’s not all positive news concerning Jets’ defensemen as color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports that although Logan Stanley is expected to join Winnipeg on their upcoming road trip, he’s not expected to skate for the next four to five days. Stanley has been on Winnipeg’s injured reserve since November 12th with an undisclosed injury.

Central Notes: Holloway, Kapanen, Makar, Novak, Sissons, Marchment, Vlasic

at CDT | by 1 Comment

In an impressive feat, St. Louis Blues’ forward Dylan Holloway will return to the lineup tonight after leaving the team’s most recent game after taking a puck to the neck (X Link). He left the game on a stretcher and was taken to an emergency department following the incident.

He’s been a solid addition to the Blues this season, as he’s off to the best scoring pace of his career to start the season. Four goals and six points in 13 games don’t necessarily jump off the page but considering he’s only managed nine points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it’s a good improvement.

Unfortunately for St. Louis, the team will still be without forward Kasperi Kapanen tonight. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported the projected lineup for tonight’s game and it didn’t include Kapanan meaning he’s likely still recovering from his upper-body injury.

Other Central notes:

  • Marc Moser of the Colorado Avalanche originally reported earlier that defenseman Cale Makar would be a game-time decision for the team’s contest tonight. As it turns out, Makar is expected to play in tonight’s action. Makar left during the second period of the team’s recent game against the Seattle Kraken but returned for less than a minute in the third period. He’s been the team’s best and arguably the league’s best player this season with five goals and 23 points in 13 games.
  • The Nashville Predators are without a few middle-six forwards tonight as the team announced Thomas Novak is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Colton Sissons has a similar injury designation. The news will inevitably hurt the Predators in one of their least productive areas as their 2.38 GF/G currently ranks 27th in the NHL.
  • Brien Rea of Victory+ reports that Dallas Stars’ forward Mason Marchment is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. This means that Marchment won’t be in the lineup tonight but could make his return this weekend against the Winnipeg Jets. He’s gotten off to a decent start on the year with two goals and eight points in 11 games.
  • Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman Alex Vlasic had an impressive defensive season last year with a 90.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations on a basement-dwelling Blackhawks roster. Now that he’s recorded seven assists in 14 games this year, Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic share that Vlasic is now getting outside consideration for Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played internationally for the United States this past summer recording two assists in eight games in the 2024 IIHF World Championships.

Injury Notes: Novak, Carrier, Goodrow, Kreider, Martin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Nashville Predators have activated Thomas Novak off of injured reserve. The 26-year-old has been out of action since November 14th with an upper-body injury. Nashville’s head coach, Andrew Brunette, suggested that Novak could return soon, saying, “I think Novak, depending on when I go back and see how his [injury] has healed… if he feels better, I think he’ll go.” 

Both Novak and Alexandre Carrier returned to the Predators’ practice on Thursday. Carrier is working back from an upper-body injury suffered on a hit from Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov.

Novak has appeared in 14 games with the Predators this season, scoring six goals and 12 points and recording six penalty minutes. Carrier has appeared in 22 games of his own, recording eight points and 12 penalty minutes. The Predators drafted Novak and Carrier with consecutive picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, taking Novak in the third round and Carrier in the fourth round. Carrier has scored 50 points through 166 career NHL games, while Novak has totaled 62 points in 92 games of his own.

Other injury notes from around the league:

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top