The New Jersey Devils have added to their forward depth, signing center Tomas Nosek to a one-year, $1 million contract.
#NEWS: We have signed forward Tomáš Nosek to a one-year, one-way deal.
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) July 19, 2023
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Nosek will provide the Devils with another bottom-six forward option as they look to build off of their very successful 2022-23 season.
Nosek’s 2022-23 Season
Nosek was a part of the 65-win Boston Bruins’ roster this past season. Although he was not one of their stars, he proved to be a valuable part of their fourth line throughout the campaign. His steady defensive play and overall reliability allowed him to make a notable impact. In 66 games with the Bruins last season, he had seven goals and tied his career high with 18 points.
Overall, it was a solid year from the fourth-liner, and there was reason to believe that he would land a similar deal to his previous one (two-year, $3.5 million contract). Yet, after not finding a home for almost three weeks in free agency, he has settled for this one-year, prove-it deal with New Jersey.
Nosek’s Fit With the Devils
When noting that the Devils possess a deep forward group just like the Bruins, Nosek is likely to play fourth-line minutes. He will be a great faceoff specialist for them, as he won just under 60% of his draws this past season. However, he also offers versatility, as he can play both wings. As a result, he should have zero trouble fitting into New Jersey’s bottom six.
Another great element about Nosek’s game is that he’s an excellent penalty-killer. Due to this, he should see plenty of time on their penalty-kill (PK) unit. He helped Boston’s PK immensely this past season, and he should now do the same thing for New Jersey.
Related: 2023 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Overall, the Devils are simply adding a strong bottom-six forward to their group. He gives them another option for their fourth line, but he has proven that he can be brought up to a middle-six role when injuries arise, too.
Nosek Provides Experience to Devils
Nosek also has a good amount of NHL experience on his resume. The 30-year-old just completed his eighth NHL season, where he has 42 goals, 59 assists, and 101 points in 398 career games. With that, he has plenty of playoff experience due to his days with the Vegas Golden Knights and Bruins, appearing in 52 total games. Adding a player with experience is never a bad thing, and this has the potential to benefit a team with high expectations like the Devils.
Although Nosek is not a dominant player, he still has the potential to be a beneficial signing for the Devils. At the end of the day, he is a solid fourth-liner who is very good at faceoffs and is a very effective penalty-killer. When noting that the Devils have scooped him up for only a $1 million cap hit, it is hard to find much to complain about with this move. Let’s see how he performs for them from here.