The one guy who never left the lineup gets paid
Pittsburgh took care of business this week, locking Tommy Novak into a three-year extension at $4.65 million per season, $13.95 million all in. The forward was set to reach free agency after 2026-2027. The Penguins did not feel like waiting.
The new money does not start until 2027-2028 and runs through 2029-2030. In a room that is still very much in flux, keeping a dependable body under contract counts for more than the cap hit suggests.
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82 games, and nobody else came close
Novak is fresh off a full season, 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points across 82 games. Respectable production for a depth forward. One line on the sheet matters more than the points, though. He was the only Penguin to suit up for all 82 games in 2025-2026. In a sport that lives and dies on who is healthy, that availability is its own kind of currency.
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At 29, Novak is walking into the best window of his career, and Pittsburgh is glad to pay for the steady version of it. The extension also shuts down the trade chatter that had trailed his name for weeks.
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