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Tommy Novak

#18 · Centre · Pittsburgh Penguins

Born Apr 28, 1997 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (age 29) · 6'1", 188 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 85th overall in 2015 by NSH (round 3)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2021-22. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Paul Byron MTL · 7 P in 27 GP Tyler Johnson CHI · 7 P in 26 GP Gabriel Vilardi LAK · 7 P in 25 GP Nolan Patrick VGK · 7 P in 25 GP Brendan Gaunce CBJ · 7 P in 30 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0102030402021-22: 7 points721-222022-23: 43 points4322-232023-24: 45 points4523-242024-25: 22 points2224-252025-26: 42 points4225-262026-27: 5 points526-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2021-22 NSH 27 1 6 7 -4 2 25 4 0.26 $818K
2022-23 NSH 51 17 26 43 5 8 93 9 0.84 $750K
2023-24 NSH 71 18 27 45 -3 8 113 5 0.63 $800K
2024-25 NSH 52 13 9 22 -5 4 88 6 0.42 $3.5M
2024-25 PIT 2 0 0 0 -2 0 4 0 0.00
2025-26 PIT 82 16 26 42 1 24 130 12 0.51 $3.5M
2026-27 PIT 6 3 2 5 2 0 11 1 0.83 $3.5M
6 seasons Career 291 68 96 164 -6 46 464 37 0.56

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2023-24 NSH 6 0 0 0 -1 0 5 4 0.00
2025-26 PIT 6 0 2 2 -4 0 7 6 0.33
2 seasons Playoffs 12 0 2 2 -5 0 12 10 0.17

2021-22 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
27 1 6 7 -4 2 25 4 0.26 4.0 11:48

Contract

$818KCap hitends in 2022
$117KCap dollars per point7 points in 27 games
$2.78MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.3 goals above replacement
$912KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$94KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 716 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Nashville Predators on Mar 25, 2020, as an entry-level contract: 2 years and $1.85M, beginning in 2020-21. It runs through 2021-22, so this is its last season.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2020-21 $818K $700K $93K $133K $793K
2021-22 $818K $750K $93K $83K $843K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 31, 2026 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2027-28 to 2029-30 3 $13.95M $4.65M
Mar 4, 2024 Nashville Predators Extension 2024-25 to 2026-27 3 $10.5M $3.5M
Feb 8, 2023 Nashville Predators Extension 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $800K $800K
Jul 18, 2022 Nashville Predators New contract 2022-23 to 2022-23 1 $750K $750K
Mar 25, 2020 Nashville Predators Entry-level 2020-21 to 2021-22 2 $1.85M $818K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2021-22 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2021-22 analytics

Rating

+0.3Goals above replacement503rd of 723 skaters, 344th of 481 forwards
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 481 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-1.4 32nd percentileEven-strength defence+0.9 66th percentilePower play-0.4 30th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 40th percentilePenalties+0.4 54th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0510152021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

56.9Corsi for %260 attempts for, 197 against
+7.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.0Expected goals for %10.8 expected for, 9.2 against
+2.5xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
58.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
37.5Goals for %6 for, 10 against
94.1PDO4.2% shooting + 89.9% saves
41Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Nick Cousins · Tommy Novak · Philip Tomasino15110:1560.362.83-5
Michael McCarron · Tommy Novak · Eeli Tolvanen423:3971.474.20-0
Tommy Novak · Luke Kunin · Eeli Tolvanen421:2440.020.10-1
Tommy Novak · Eeli Tolvanen · Philip Tomasino817:3060.742.11-2

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.0Expected goalsfrom 37 unblocked attempts
-1.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.38 expected goals per 60 minutes2nd
Shot quality 5.5% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -1.0 goals above expected43rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 451 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Game 20Expected 2.0Goals 1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Dec 17, 2021 @ CHI W 3-2 (OT) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 12:55
Dec 16, 2021 vs COL W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:06
Dec 12, 2021 @ NYR W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:07
Dec 10, 2021 @ NJD W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 11:41
Dec 9, 2021 @ NYI W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:41
Dec 7, 2021 @ DET W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10:49
Dec 4, 2021 vs MTL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:00
Dec 2, 2021 vs BOS L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10:57
Nov 30, 2021 vs CBJ W 6-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 14:33
Nov 27, 2021 @ COL L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 3 0 14:29
Nov 26, 2021 vs NJD W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:09
Nov 24, 2021 vs VGK L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 15:25
Nov 22, 2021 vs ANA W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 13:22
Nov 16, 2021 @ TOR L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 09:15
Nov 13, 2021 vs ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 10:39
Nov 11, 2021 @ STL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11:54
Nov 10, 2021 @ DAL W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 09:55
Nov 7, 2021 @ CHI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 11:10
Nov 5, 2021 @ VAN W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 10:06
Nov 3, 2021 @ EDM L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:53
Nov 2, 2021 @ CGY W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:03
Oct 30, 2021 vs NYI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:39
Oct 26, 2021 vs SJS W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10:03
Oct 24, 2021 @ MIN W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:10
Oct 23, 2021 @ WPG L 4-6 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 12:50
Oct 21, 2021 vs NYR L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 10:06
Oct 19, 2021 vs LAK W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 09:29