After signing several veterans to free-agent contracts in the summer of 2021, it ended up being mixed results for the Boston Bruins. Goaltender Linus Ullmark had the best 2021-22 season and was followed by defenseman Derek Forbort. Two forwards that were brought in had less than stellar seasons, to say the least.
Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek were part of the bottom-six reshuffling by general manager (GM) Don Sweeney and both players had seasons that they would have liked to forget. Foligno stuck out more than Nosek mainly because of the contract he was given, two years for $7.6 million with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.8 million. Nosek was given a smaller deal, two years for $3.5 million with an AAV of $1.75 million, but he had his equal struggles as the main center on the fourth line.
Nosek Had Bounce-Back 2022-23 Season
Sweeney tried cutting ties with Foligno before the season started by placing him on waivers, but he went unclaimed and returned to Boston. The Bruins were glad he did. The former long-time Columbus Blue Jacket had 10 goals and 27 points, a far cry from his two goals and 13 points in the previous season. He was considered as having the biggest bounce-back season for the Black and Gold, but not too far behind was Nosek.
In 66 regular season games, the 30-year-old had seven goals and 11 assists. He struggled through the first month of the season scoring, but he hit an open net from 190 feet against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 13 at the TD Garden and the former Vegas Golden Knights center had a sense of relief when the red light went on. He was injured in January with a fractured foot which was a big blow to the Bruins. He was strong at the faceoff dot, winning 59.3% of his draws in the regular season while averaging 12:33 a night. He was so good that first-year coach Jim Montgomery had him out on defensive zone faceoffs late in games with either Patrice Bergeron or Charlie Coyle while playing a big role on the league’s top-ranked penalty kill.
It didn’t really matter who was on his wings this season, Nosek played well with whoever was put there by Montgomery. He had Foligno there along with Jakub Lauko when he was called up from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League, but his season improved following a Feb. 23 trade with the Washington Capitals. Boston acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway and the latter was placed on Nosek’s line to give some grit. They played well together, they were aggressive on the forecheck and both became key parts late in the season when the Bruins were hit with injuries.
Nosek Had a Good Series Against Florida
Nosek carried over his all-around play from the regular season into the postseason against the Florida Panthers. In the seven games, he had two assists, 11 shots on the net, and won 60.4% of his faceoffs. He picked up an assist in Game 2 in the second period of the Bruins’ 6-3 loss when he jumped on an Anthony Duclair turnover in the offensive zone and fed Brad Marchand for a shorthanded goal.
Related: Boston Bruins 2022-23 Player Grades: Nick Foligno
Nosek also assisted on a third-period Taylor Hall goal in Game 4 of a 6-2 Bruins victory to give them a commanding 3-1 series lead, before they dropped the final three games to lose the series in historic fashion. Losing the series was not because of Nosek.
Nosek is a Free Agent This Summer
Nosek is one of a handful of free agents for Sweeney this summer. Where the front office sees him fitting in should they re-sign him is the question. He’s not going to command a much bigger if any, payday than the one he got two summers ago, but comments from Boston’s GM end-of-the-season media availability might say otherwise.
It is expected because of salary cap constraints that Nosek might find himself playing somewhere else in 2023-24. The Bruins have some young centers in Providence that could play a bigger role next season. Johnny Beecher and Joona Koppanen (who replaced Nosek in some games this season when he was injured) are two that could fill in the fourth-line center spot. Nosek showed that he was more than capable of returning and holding down that spot, but do his age and the salary cap limits force the hand of Sweeney and the Bruins to move on from him? That’s the question that will be answered as soon as free agency begins.