When you add a Hall of Fame caliber player at the magnitude of Steven Stamkos, you naturally wonder how that will affect the returning players of the Nashville Predators.
Tommy Novak, at least initially, is projected to be on the second line in a center role for the Predators to open up 2024-25. If the Predators decide to go back to their trustworthy top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Gus Nyquist, then that means Novak will likely play with Stamkos on the same line.
This can end up being a major boost to Novak's growth as a top-six center in the NHL, but it doesn't come without enormous pressure. He will be looked at to become a trusted puck distributor to Stamkos, and possibly Jonathan Marchessault on the other side.
Is Novak ready to be an everyday 2nd line center?
The second line for the Predators last season was a bit of a blender. You saw a lot of players moved in and out. It's no disrespect to some of the players who got second line roles, but these were sometimes bottom six players with nowhere near the offensive upside you need from your top-six forwards.
Novak really is the wildcard of the projected top-six. He didn't have a horrible second year in the NHL by any means, but the playoffs were a different story. He was largely invisible, averaging just 10:31 of ice time and notching zero points in six games.
Despite that, I love this opportunity that Novak is expected to get by centering Stamkos and Marchessault. It makes total sense to give Novak a chance to elevate to that role and see if he's up to the task. If he is, then the Predators will have a critical strength to their team early on, which is having a trusted top two lines.
Novak didn't regress in his third NHL season, which saw him play in a career high 71 games. His possession metrics particularly stick out with a 61.1% Corsi rating.
Obviously you're going to be looking for Novak to be strong in his skating and step up his two-way play to cut it as a second line center everyday. And of course, he's going to have to be an effective set-up man to Stamkos and Marchessault.
One area where Novak is going to have to show at least a little improvement is in his physical play. That doesn't mean he's expected to be something he's not, but he logged just five hits in 71 games last season. By far the lowest on the team among the everyday starters.
I'm not sure what the Plan B is if Novak struggles in a second line role. It will complicate things because then you either have to explore putting Stamkos at center, or elevating a bottom six guy who probably should be in a second line center role.
However, if you're lookin for backup plans to Novak on the second line, Juuso Parssinen could get elevated again. He's a much bigger body and physical player, and we've seen flashes of what Parssinen can do on the offensive end when he's locked in.
There's also always the last resort of putting Sissons on the second line, although that is in no way ideal.
This is why Novak has to be your top choice for that role, and you hope he seizes the opportunity. It gives your a top-six that I'll put up head-to-head against almost any opponent and like their chances if outperforming them.
At this late point in Stamkos' career, he's better fitted as a winger than as a center. You have to first give Novak the opportunity to shine in this new role on a line with Stamkos.
Novak will also be looked at to increase his footprint on the Predators' second power play unit. The top unit will have all of the heavy hitters on it including Stamkos, Forsberg, O'Reilly, Roman Josi and a fifth player to be determined, but Marchessault seems like the logical pick which gives you a top unit full of pure scorers and a penalty kill that will be faced with a pick your poison proposition.
The second power play unit will be Novak's to lead. Novak had six power play goals and six power play assists last season. With a loaded top power play unit, the Predators might become one of those teams that never lets their top unit leave the ice.
You can't help but be excited to see the 27-year-old Novak get to possibly play on a line with Stamkos and Marchessault. It does mean that Luke Evangelista is in the bottom-six, which I'm sure some fans don't like to see.
The starting lineup will be a fluid situation early on in the regular season, but at least initially, it makes total sense that Novak is your first choice to center the second line with Stamkos and Marchessault.