Nashville Predators center Tommy Novak (82) celebrates a goal with the team. Casey Gower / Nashville Post
Casey Gower
Here’s the likely scenario for Tommy Novak when the Predators open the regular season against Dallas on Thursday:
On one side of him will be splashy free-agent signee Steven Stamkos, a likely future Hall of Famer who has scored 555 career goals.
On the other will be splashy free-agent signee Jonathan Marchessault, a former Stanley Cup playoffs MVP who has scored 230 career goals.
Predators Opening NightDallas Stars vs. PredatorsBridgestone ArenaThursday, 7 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu
So, yes, Novak will be the center of attention to start the season, assuming the Preds go with the line combinations the team used through most of training camp.
“It’s obviously a cool opportunity to play with really smart players,” Novak said. “Obviously it’s been short so far, just having preseason games and practices. But it’s just cool to watch them play. They’re really skilled players and smart players, and hopefully I’ll learn a lot from them.”
The Preds know what they have in their first line from last season, a trio of Filip Forberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist that accounted for a whopping 233 points (92 goals, 141 assists) in 2023-24.
But the point of shelling out big bucks for Stamkos and Marchessault was to add firepower, giving the team a second offensively minded line that would balance last season’s big three.
That means an important role for the 27-year-old Novak, a 2015 third-round pick who’s played 149 games and totaled 95 points (36 goals, 59 assists) in his three previous NHL seasons. Though not nearly as steeped in experience as the two Stanley Cup winners on either side of him, Novak has puck skills, vision and poise that could make him an excellent setup man.
There are also some questions about his all-around play, however, as Preds coach Andrew Brunette limited Novak to an average of just 10:31 ice time in six playoff games last season, after he’d averaged 14:12 during the regular season.
“Novy’s a guy who has a ton of skill,” Stamkos said. “He’s so elusive, such an effortless skater. Obviously he’s a guy who’s playing with some guys that can shoot the puck. He’s a guy that looks to make a play first, which is kind of ideally what you want as a centerman. So far, so good. We’ll see once the regular season starts, but [Marchessault and I are] excited about the opportunity.”
It’s hard to get a great gauge on how well a line is playing in preseason, as coaches are often tinkering with various combinations.
But the trio put up average numbers in the last contest all three were together, a 6-4 win at Carolina on Oct. 2. In that game, the Stamkos-Novak-Marchessault line finished minus one in 6:46 ice time. The Preds produced two scoring chances during that stretch, while also allowing two.
What’s been Brunette’s evaluation of Novak in between Stamkos and Marchessault so far?
“Yeah, I think he’s been OK,” Brunette said Friday. “He started camp off, I thought he was really clipping [along], then kind of slowed down here a little bit. It’s hard to really evaluate, especially veteran players, in games like [the one against Carolina].
“So we’ll see where he is with those two big guys. It’s a hard job. They’re both offensive guys. So Tommy probably feels a little pressure to get them the puck, and we’re just getting Tommy to be Tommy. Tommy’s good enough and can play with anybody, so just got to get him believing that.”
Novak is excited about the chance to see how his skill set complements those of Stamkos and Marchessault, noting that his first preference to pass should feed into the firing ranges on each side of him.
But he doesn’t want to put an overwhelming amount of pressure on himself either.
“On paper, it looks nice, but [I’m] just going out there and trying to execute,” Novak said. “Just try to be myself and stick to what’s made me successful.”