Penguins lock up Tommy Novak through 2030 with extension

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension on Friday, July 31, keeping him under team control through the 2029-30 season. The deal is worth $13.95 million in total and carries an annual cap hit of $4.65 million, taking effect after his current contract expires following the 2026-27 season.

Novak, 29, appeared in all 82 games for Pittsburgh last season, the only Penguin to play the full schedule, and finished seventh on the team with 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists) while averaging 14:17 of ice time per game. He added two assists in six playoff contests as the Penguins returned to the postseason for the first time since 2022.

The extension raises Novak's cap hit from his current $3.5 million to $4.65 million, an increase of 33 percent. He is entering the final year of a three-year, $10.5 million deal he signed with Nashville in March 2024, a year before Pittsburgh acquired him at the 2025 trade deadline. That post-deadline stint lasted just two games before a stress fracture in his left leg ended his season.

"I also see it as a good deal and a lot of money for me," Novak told NHL.com. He also said of Pittsburgh: "This is somewhere that I really wanted to be."

Novak's versatility made him valuable to a Penguins lineup that dealt with frequent injuries. He centered a line with Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin that came together late in the season, though he can also play wing, and he produced 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) over his final 53 games. The Hockey Writers charted 222:55 of five-on-five ice time for that trio.

Novak and defenseman Kaedan Korczak, acquired from Vegas on June 30, are now the only Penguins signed through 2030.