Latest news with #TommyNovak
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Beneath The Numbers: Tommy Novak's Potential 2025-26 Impact In Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a trade that few saw coming before the 2025 trade deadline on March 5, dealing forward Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn. The Penguins also dealt defenseman Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a 2028 fifth-round pick on the same night after he didn't quite fit the team. He was part of the return the Penguins got from the Vancouver Canucks for Marcus Pettersson.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Beneath The Numbers: Tommy Novak's Potential 2025-26 Impact In Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a trade that few saw coming before the 2025 trade deadline on March 5, dealing forward Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Tommy Novak and defenseman Luke Schenn. The Penguins also dealt defenseman Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a 2028 fifth-round pick on the same night after he didn't quite fit the team. He was part of the return the Penguins got from the Vancouver Canucks for Marcus Pettersson.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Despite Early Push, Penguins Shut Out By Vegas, 4-0
Following the 2025 NHL trade deadline on Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a late-night tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights. After a whirlwind day filled with player movement, sleeplessness, and emotions, the Penguins actually came out of the gate flying against the Pacific Division's best team. Unfortunately, Vegas's talent ultimately overpowered them. The Golden Knights shut out the Penguins, 4-0, to hand Pittsburgh their fourth consecutive loss. The game started out well for the Penguins but ended up lopsided the other way. They did not capitalize early , which ultimately ended up sinking and burying them. The Penguins took three penalties in the first period and killed all three, but Tanner Pearson managed to find the back of the net at even-strength. Ivan Barbashev then picked his spot and sniped a shot over Penguins' goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic's glove hand in the second period to put Vegas up, 2-0. The Golden Knights sealed the deal early in the third period, when Brandon Saad scored two minutes into the third period and Mark Stone tallied one just 54 seconds later. "I don't think it was the opportunities," head coach Mike Sullivan. "I think it was what we gave up in the third period. For two periods, five-on-five, we competed, really. We had some looks. We need to get inside more. Give Vegas credit, they've got big 'D,' and they make it hard to get inside. We've got to fight to get inside more, but for two periods, I thought it was a pretty competitive hockey game." Final from Vegas. — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 8, 2025 Here are a few other thoughts and observations from this game: - Friday was Tommy Novak's first game in black and gold. Novak was acquired Wednesday from the Nashville Predators as part of the trade that sent Michael Bunting to the Nashville Predators, and he has the ability to be slotted as a third-line center as well as in the middle-six. He centered a third line with Danton Heinen and Philip Tomasino. Although the line spent much of the evening in the defensive zone, Novak still generated a few chances - including a good look on a two-on-one. The Penguins have acquired defenseman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak from @PredsNHL in exchange for Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round draft — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 6, 2025 "You can see the skill he has," Sullivan said. "He gets a grade-A look on the two-on-one and just misses his mark. He made a few plays. He has good tight-area skills. I think he skates well. So, there's a lot to like there." - It was a mixed night for defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok, who, on one hand, showed flashes of offensive instinct and ability, and on the other, showed a lot of defensive deficiencies. He was completely fooled by Stone on the breakaway attempt late in the game and had a few questionable reads throughout the night, especially when trying to defend the rush. It's evident that more defensive structure needs to be present in his game, but it's also undeniable that there is something there offensively. He was playing his off-side Friday, as the Penguins only had six defensemen to dress while waiting for newly acquired defenseman Conor Timmins to arrive. But he should get some runway at the end of the season here so the Penguins can see what they have in him. - It was a tough night for the defensive corps in general. Vegas seemed to simply walk right through them uncontested on many occasions, and they weren't really establishing themselves in the defensive zone in terms of getting in shooting lanes and blocking shots. The Penguins had just nine blocked shots on the night, and only four came from defensemen - two of them courtesy of Ryan Shea, who also had a bit of a rough night after signing a one-year contract extension earlier in the day. The defense has been a story all year for the Penguins. It was no different Friday. - Someone who was - and always does - giving maximum effort and heart is Bryan Rust, who blocked a shot late in the second period and appeared to be in a ton of pain. Evgeni Malkin - playing in his 1,200th career game - briefly took Rust's place on the top line to close out the period, but Rust returned for the final frame. 1,200 games - all played in a @penguins jersey 🤩Congratulations on the milestone, Geno! — Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) March 8, 2025 Whatever happens with this team, Rust is a warrior, and he always has been. This guy is a Penguin through and through. - Speaking of Rust, the top line of Sidney Crosby, Rust, and Rickard Rakell was, really, the only line generating much of anything. They had some good looks in the first period that they simply failed to capitalize on, and the three penalty kills didn't allow them to see as much ice time together. Rakell had a nice chance later on when he dangled around the Vegas defense and walked his way to the net, narrowly missing the corner of the net high glove-side. It will be nice to see Crosby have the opportunity to break Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record with those two flanking him the rest of the season. - And, speaking of Rakell... clearly, he was not dealt at the trade deadline. And it was very evident to see - both during the game and afterwards - that he is very happy about that. Feel like this is worth sharing in wake of the outrage over is definitely a strategy involved here. Dubas demanded an asking price that wasn't have a million picks. And they have options now:@TheHockeyNews #NHL #LetsGoPenshttps:// — Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) March 7, 2025 Dubas on Rickard Rakell: "He is a big part of our program. ... You don't just push that out the door." #Pens — Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) March 7, 2025 He was playing with a lot of energy, especially early on. He generated some good looks for himself, and he had his legs. It was a stressful deadline day for Rakell, but he's relieved to still be donning the Penguins' logo. "I'm happy I'm still here," Rakell said. "Overall, very happy. It's been a little bit stressful the last 24 hours or so, but like I said before, I'm really happy to be part of this team and organization and just looking forward to improving here. "I think that's all I want. Looking back to this summer, I just tried to prove myself and tried to earn my spot on this team again after last season. So, that's still my goal... just going to try to keep getting better for our team and our group here, and keep looking forward." This guy wants to be in Pittsburgh, and he wants to be part of the solution. And the Penguins - simply put - need players like that if they're going to - as POHO and GM Kyle Dubas would say - find their way out of this "phase of the program." Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penguins GM Dubas Speaks On Bunting, Desharnais Trades
It was only a matter of time before Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas tipped the first domino in the days leading up to the Mar. 7 NHL trade deadline. And he did that Wednesday night. The Penguins announced that they traded forward Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak. The Penguins have acquired defenseman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak from @PredsNHL in exchange for Michael Bunting and a 2026 fourth-round draft — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 6, 2025 In addition, the Penguins dealt recently acquired defenseman Vincent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a 2028 fifth-round pick. The Penguins have acquired a 2028 fifth-round draft pick from the @SanJoseSharks in exchange for defenseman Vincent Desharnais. — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 6, 2025 Dubas explained that, while the decision to trade Bunting was not an easy one, Novak is someone the organization has been eyeing for a while. "We looked at the two trades in totality - Desharnais, Bunting, and a pick for Novak, Schenn, and a pick," Dubas said via email. "The motivation being that Tommy was younger, under team control for an additional season over [Bunting], carried a lower cap charge, and is primarily a center. We felt that carried a large amount of value as we move ahead here with our plans." He added: "We like Tommy's ability to control play, generate scoring chances for himself and others, and produce at even strength. Nashville did a great job with his development over the years, and he blossomed into a very solid player for them. He has been on our priority list for a few years now here, and we feel his mobility, playmaking, and production as a center provides us a great option in the years ahead." Novak, 27, has 13 goals and 22 points in 52 games this season, and he has registered 49 goals and 117 points in 201 career games for Nashville, who drafted him in the third round (85th overall) of the 2015 NHL draft. TOP SHELF TOMMY 😱How did Tommy Novak score that⁉️ — ESPN (@espn) October 10, 2023 He will be a solid third-line center option for the Penguins, and there is definitely some upside in Novak - as well as some skill. He is currently in the first year of the three-year contract that pays him $3.5 million annually. As for Schenn - a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning in their back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021 - Dubas likes the intangibles he brings to the group as well as the 35-year-old veteran's toughness and shutdown ability on the blue line. "We feel that having Luke's defensive play, character, leadership, toughness, and spirit is something we need here to help push our program through this phase and preserve our culture and standards as we work to return to contention," Dubas said. "We believe the way he plays and the way he carries himself each day will be very well-received by Penguins fans and the city of Pittsburgh." Luke Schenn, acquired by PIT, is a veteran depth defenceman who throws a ton of hits. #LetsGoPens — JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 6, 2025 Schenn carries a cap hit of $2.75 million through the end of the 2025-26 season and has a goal and five points in 61 games. He was originally drafted fifth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, and he has 44 goals and 203 points in 1,057 NHL games. These two trades will be just the beginning for Dubas, as there are several other players - such as pending-unrestricted free agents Matt Grzelcyk and Anthony Beauvillier, and even top winger Rickard Rakell - who may be on the move within the next 48 hours. Feels like a pretty good time to share again, as not much has is your primer for this Friday's trade deadline, including which #LetsGoPens players to watch and what to expect:@TheHockeyNews #NHL #THN — Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) March 4, 2025 The market is a heavy seller's market, which bodes well for the Penguins. And Dubas is confident the Penguins can make some impactful moves for the team moving forward. "This is one of the more unique markets that I've encountered leading up to the trade deadline," Dubas said. There's a lot of parity and different strategies that contending teams have deployed, combined with teams that are out of the race being very clear that with the salary cap going up in 2025-26 and the two years beyond, that they plan to be aggressive with their acquisitions come July. "Overall, I think we are positioned well over the next few days - but especially heading into the summer and beyond - to continue to execute our plan as we have been for the last 12 months and continue to work to return the Penguins back into contention as soon as possible." Follow and bookmark our THN - Penguins Trade Deadline Tracker here. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
