Tommy
Novak
C · PIT · Balanced · Around average
- PAL
- 49
- WAR
- 1.4
- Value
- 41
- PTS
- 42
2025-26№ 112 / 615
Tommy Novak (Pittsburgh Penguins) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Tommy Novak
#18CPlays: Centre · 80% of faceoffs
Pittsburgh Penguins
HEIGHT : 185 cm · WEIGHT : 85 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : April 27, 1997 · St. Paul, United States
Drafted : 2015 · NSH · round 3, pick #85
Contract : $3,500,000 · 2024-25 → 2026-27 · Standard Contract (Extension) · UFA
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 |
| 2025-26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 24 |
| 2024-25 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | Nashville Predators | 52 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 4 |
| 2023-24 | Nashville Predators | 71 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 8 |
| 2022-23 | Nashville Predators | 51 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 8 |
| 2021-22 | Nashville Predators | 27 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| NHL totals | 302 | 72 | 101 | 173 | 52 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Nashville Predators | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Playoff totals | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
Tommy Novak: our analysis
2025-26 season: 82 GP, 16 G, 26 A, 42 PTS, +1 +/-, 14:17 TOI. WAR 1.4 (112th of 615) · PAL 49, around average.
In 2025-26, Tommy Novak, 29, posts a PAL Rating of 49 out of 100 (around average), and his WAR of 1.4 ranks 112th among 615 regulars, in the top quarter.
His strengths: possession (86, among the best in the league), power play (69, above average) and penalty kill (68, above average). On the other hand, discipline (18, well below average) and defense (31, below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: EV offense (+6.6); his biggest cost: EV defense (-1.6).
A season in line with 2024-25 (PAL of 48); his WAR went from 1.4 to 1.4.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 41 (poor return) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Tommy Novak's story
Raised in River Falls, Wisconsin after being born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Novak came up playing in the American junior system where he featured in USHL competition and in prospect showcases that attracted NHL attention. That early exposure helped set the stage for his college choice and eventual professional path.
Novak spent four seasons with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, playing NCAA hockey from 2015 through 2019. Leaving college in 2019, he signed with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL in March, making the jump into the professional ranks and earning AHL Rookie of the Month honours in November 2019 for his early pro play.
Nashville had selected him 85th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and he inked an entry-level contract with the Predators in March 2020. He made his NHL debut on October 19, 2021, and scored his first NHL goal on December 17, 2021, against Marc-André Fleury. Over the following seasons he signed successive one-year deals with Nashville and registered a 17-goal campaign in 2022–23.
A significant career turn came on March 5, 2025, when Novak was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. A stress fracture in his leg sustained shortly after the trade ended his 2024–25 season, but he returned for 2025–26 and, for the first time as a pro, appeared in all 82 regular-season games, finishing with 42 points. On July 31, 2026, he agreed to a three-year contract with Pittsburgh.
Internationally Novak has represented the United States at youth level, contributing to medal-winning squads and junior tournaments. On the ice he is a forward whose résumé includes goal scoring at the NHL level and notable productivity in both the AHL and NHL; his career shows a player capable of stepping into a steady, contributing role on pro rosters.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 15:47
- PP TOI/GP
- 2:31
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:00
- Pts/GP
- 0.78
- EV points
- 9
- Hits
- 3
- Blocks
- 10
- Takeaways
- 4
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 54.0 %
- Off. zone starts
- 44.7 %
- Faceoffs
- 35.2 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
46between 27 and 64 (80% range)
- Goals
- 20
- Assists
- 27
- Games
- 77
So far: 14 pts in 18 games. The team has played 18 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.55 pts per game (last season: 0.51).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Stable
- Points per game: 0.63 in 23-24, 0.51 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 48 → 49
Outlook, age included
→ StableAge 29: prime years
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 78 %
74
Established NHL
- SK
- Skating
- 71
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 87
- Confidence 82 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 73
- Confidence 80 %
- DU
- Durability
- 74
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 48
- Confidence 82 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 63
- Confidence 62 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 74
- Confidence 82 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 59
- Confidence 80 %
- PA
- Passing
- 83
- Confidence 78 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 79
- Confidence 78 %
- DF
- Defense
- 67
- Confidence 75 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 69
- Confidence 25 %
- EX
- Experience
- 70
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating71
- Top speed (35 %)35.7 · 68
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)5.374 · 72
- Distance /60 (20 %)16.5 · 79
- Speed consistency (15 %)35.2 · 72
ST — Strength87
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)6.525 · 93
- Body mass (50 %)-0.717 · 68
EN — Endurance73
- Ice time per game (45 %)14.1 · 71
- Total ice time (20 %)1,151 · 77
- Shift length (15 %)46.2 · 78
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)13.2 · 72
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)1.708 · 64
DU — Durability74
- Share of games played (100 %)0.808 · 74
CK — Checking48
- Hits /60 (70 %)1.476 · 50
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)1.061 · 45
- Season volume (10 %)2.565 · 51
FG — Fighting63
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.692 · 63
DI — Discipline74
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.01 · 72
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.482 · 82
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.542 · 62
FO — Faceoffs59
- Faceoff % (85 %)45.4 · 59
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)28.8 · 67
PA — Passing83
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.833 · 82
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.502 · 75
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.278 · 90
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.691 · 78
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.579 · 80
SC — Scoring79
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.947 · 80
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.851 · 79
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.305 · 83
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.189 · 72
- xG per shot (10 %)0.082 · 74
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)13.1 · 79
DF — Defense67
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)-0.114 · 58
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.01 · 73
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.625 · 75
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)-0.025 · 75
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.163 · 79
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)58.6 · 72
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.46 · 73
PS — Penalty shot69
- Shootouts (60 %)32 · 68
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience70
- Career regular-season games (65 %)80
- Career playoff games (25 %)48
- NHL seasons (10 %)61
OV — Overall74
- SC · Scoring (20 %)79
- PA · Passing (20 %)83
- DF · Defense (20 %)67
- SK · Skating (12 %)71
- FO · Faceoffs (10 %)59
- EN · Endurance (8 %)73
- DI · Discipline (5 %)74
- ST · Strength (3 %)87
- CK · Checking (2 %)48
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 74 | 71 | 79 | 67 |
| 2024-25 | 75 | 69 | 82 | 65 |
| 2023-24 | 76 | 69 | 83 | 63 |
| 2022-23 | 74 | 65 | 84 | 49 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
1.4
wins above replacement
112 of 615
PAL Rating
49/ 100
Performance · Around average
226 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
41/ 100
Poor return
3.50 M$ · expected PAL 58
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 64
- Defense
- 49
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 65
- Creation
- 42
- Shooting
- 51
- Possession
- 86
- Defense
- 31
- Discipline
- 18
- Power play
- 69
- Penalty kill
- 68
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | PIT | 1.4 | 49 | 41 | 3.50 M$ |
| 2024-25 | PIT | 1.4 | 48 | 34 | 3.50 M$ |
| 2023-24 | NSH | 1.9 | 73 | 86 | 0.80 M$ |
| 2022-23 | NSH | 1.5 | 37 | 53 | 0.75 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
75/ 100
Very good
better than 75% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
52/ 100
Average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
81/ 100
Very good
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 104 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 90
- Shot selection
- 57
- Penalties drawn
- 7
- Puck management
- 64
Defense
- Takeaways
- 90
- Discipline
- 39
- Safe zone exits
- 65
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | PIT | 75 | 52 | 81 |
| 2024-25 | PIT | 38 | 6 | 81 |
| 2023-24 | NSH | 98 | 63 | 99 |
| 2022-23 | NSH | 95 | 87 | 87 |
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
1.4
wins above replacement
-0.1 to 2.5 — 90% interval
112 of 615 forwards
+7.3 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +6.6
- EV defense
- -1.6
- Power play
- +0.6
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- -0.6
- Penalties
- -0.7
- Average → replacement
- +3.0
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | PIT | 82 | 1.4 | -0.1 to 2.5 | 112/615 |
| 2024-25 | PIT | 54 | 1.4 | 0.7 to 2.3 | 114/596 |
| 2023-24 | NSH | 71 | 1.9 | 0.6 to 3.6 | 75/608 |
| 2022-23 | NSH | 51 | 1.5 | 0.6 to 2.4 | 95/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 120.8 km/h14th percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 35.3 km/h52nd percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 2158th percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 47.5 %95th percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 71.4 km72nd percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 5.12 km71st percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 43.8 %90th percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 18.4 %66th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 34.1 %98th percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 2970th percentile | 791st percentile | 24.1 %94th percentile |
| High danger | 1792nd percentile | 699th percentile | 35.3 %87th percentile |
| Mid range | 550th percentile | 177th percentile | 20.0 %76th percentile |
| Long range | 272nd percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %87th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
ANA
LAK
BOS
VGK
MTL
UTA
NSH
FLA
COL
CHI
DAL
CBJ
WSH
WPG
PHITommy Novak: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Tommy Novak have in 2026-27?
Tommy Novak has 7 goals and 14 points (7 assists) in 18 games in 2026-27.
How old is Tommy Novak?
Tommy Novak is 29 years old: he was born on April 28, 1997.
How tall is Tommy Novak, and how much does he weigh?
Tommy Novak is 6'1" (185 cm) and weighs 187 lb (85 kg).
Where is Tommy Novak from?
United States: Tommy Novak was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States.
What team does Tommy Novak play for?
Tommy Novak plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL, at C, wearing number 18.
Is Tommy Novak injured?
No: Tommy Novak is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Tommy Novak?
Tommy Novak produced 1.4 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 112th of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 49 out of 100: around average for his position.
How much does Tommy Novak make?
Tommy Novak earns $3.5M for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 41 out of 100 (poor return): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Tommy Novak's contract end?
Tommy Novak's contract runs through the 2026-27 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent.
Is Tommy Novak overpaid?
Yes, his output falls short of what his salary should buy. His Value rating is 41 out of 100 (poor return), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Tommy Novak a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 112th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is Tommy Novak getting better?
He is holding steady: his PAL rating went from 48 in 2024-25 to 49 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has Tommy Novak played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Tommy Novak has 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists).
What are Tommy Novak's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Tommy Novak has 302 games, 72 goals, 101 assists and 173 points. His best season: 2023-24, with 45 points in 71 games.
Where was Tommy Novak drafted?
Tommy Novak was drafted 85th overall (round 3) by Nashville Predators in 2015.
Is Tommy Novak better at home or on the road?
On the road: in 2026-27, he averages 0.63 points per game at home (5 in 8 games) and 0.90 on the road (9 in 10 games).
How does Tommy Novak perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Tommy Novak has 12 games and 2 points in his career. His pace (0.17 points per game) is lower than his regular-season pace (0.57).
Which player is most similar to Tommy Novak?
Pavel Buchnevich: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Pavel Buchnevich's page →Is Tommy Novak a good fantasy pick?
A useful depth pick: our projection has him at 46 points in 2026-27, or 0.60 points per game.
What is Tommy Novak's nationality?
Tommy Novak is American. Internationally: United States: bronze medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (U18); 7 points in 4 games at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge (United States national junior team).
What awards has Tommy Novak won?
AHL — Rookie of the Month (November 2019).
Where did Tommy Novak play before turning pro?
Saint Thomas Academy (three years of high school hockey) ; Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) 2014–15 ; University of Minnesota (Minnesota Golden Gophers) 2015–2019.
How many points is Tommy Novak projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 46 points in 77 games in 2026-27 (27 to 64 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)