The Pittsburgh Penguins
and general manager Kyle Dubas recently decided to re-sign center Tommy Novak
to a three-year contract extension. Novak was a key part of a Penguins team that overachieved and made the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Novak finished the 2025-26 season tallying 16 goals and 26 assists in all 82 regular season games for the Penguins. Novak was mainly deployed as the Penguins' second-line center as Sidney Crosby
was the first-line center, Ben Kindel
was the third-line center, and Blake Lizotte
was the fourth-line center.
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But the extension that Dubas signed Novak to in the offseason, shows what the Penguins clearly thinks about their depth at center in the minor leagues. The Penguins do not have enough depth at center so the extension for Novak made sense.
Tommy Novak's extension shows mistrust in Tristan Broz
The Penguins have had center Tristan Broz in Wilkes-Barre Scranton in the American Hockey League for the last season or two. Broz has been up and down the Penguins lineup in Wilkes-Barre as he has been trying to find his footing in the AHL.
But with the Penguins and Dubas giving Tommy Novak a new three-year deal, it shows that Dubas and the front office think that Broz is not ready for a full-time NHL role yet. All the center positions are now taken especially with Tommy Novak's new deal.
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There was speculation that Dubas could have traded Novak in the offseason knowing he is about to be 30 years old and does not fit the long-term plans for Pittsburgh. But re-upping on a new deal shows that the Penguins think their center depth needs more seasoning.
The Penguins drafted Will Horcoff the same year they drafted Ben Kindel. Horcoff has been playing at the University of Michigan for now and clearly the front office thinks he is not ready either.
The Penguins are in dire need of center depth once Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin
inevitably retire here soon. The Penguins have had Crosby as their 1C for as long as anybody could remember. Same goes for Malkin at 2C but Malkin played as a winger this past season.
The Penguins can still deal Novak later on if they so choose
If the Penguins find themselves out of playoff contention once the season hits the halfway point in 2026, they can choose to find a trade partner for Novak. Since there were people speculating that they were going to deal him originally, this would not come as a shock.
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If the Penguins are not a contending team like they were last year, there should be plenty of suitors for a guy that is on a team-friendly deal and is ideally a good center. There would be teams lining up for his services.
Obviously, the plan is for the Penguins to improve on last season, but if they do not, it could shift Dubas' thinking. It would take a decent price tag to trade the center as Novak is a dime a dozen at his position.
But for now, the Penguins clearly do not trust Broz to take that leap yet. And with Novak landing a new deal, he will have to prove that his numbers last season were not a fluke and that he can pick up where he left off.
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