Tomas Nosek entered the NHL in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. Nearly a decade later, he’s cemented himself as a reliable piece of scoring depth for winning teams.
Nosek looks to continue filling that role for the Florida Panthers. He signed a one-year contract with the team July 1 and is expected to take on the fourth-line center role after Kevin Stenlund left for Utah in free agency.
“Tomas is an experienced veteran forward who plays a strong two-way game,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “We are looking forward to him joining our club for the upcoming campaign.”
The veteran forward has made a name for himself as a depth scorer and solid penalty killer in nearly a decade of NHL service.
“My rule for the last couple years as a fourth-line center were be good on the PK, kill some penalties and do the little things right,” he said. “Find a way to help a team win a game. That’s why I chose to sign with the Panthers. … I wanna win, and I’d do anything to help them win a game.”
Nosek played his first full season in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017-18 season. He scored 15 points in 67 regular-season games and six more in the playoffs on the way to Vegas’ first Stanley Cup Final appearance. He scored three goals in the series loss against the Washington Capitals.
The 31-year-old hopes to get another shot at the Cup with the Panthers.
“We went all the way to the final, and since then I’ve been chasing that final game,” he said. “Every year you want to win, and especially when you get older you want to win even more.”
Nosek is plenty familiar with the Panthers’ style of play. He took on Florida in the 2023 NHL playoffs as a member of the Boston Bruins in a feisty seven-game series.
“That season was history, [Boston] never lost two games in a row,” Nosek said. “And then in the playoffs, [Florida] beat us three games in a row. So it was a special team.”
Although that series was highly combative and sparked a recent rivalry between the two teams, Nosek said there’s no hard feelings.
“I don’t think I’m the first or last person that got into some kind of discussion between the benches,” he said. “It’s a part of hockey. … I don’t think there will be a problem.”
Perhaps the biggest concern with Nosek’s signing is his health. He missed half of the 2023-24 season with the New Jersey Devils due to a right-foot injury. Still, the season prior in Boston was his best yet with a career-high 18 points. If he can return to full health and form as a Panther, he’ll prove to be a great asset for a team on the hunt for another Stanley Cup.
“Last season was not good from an injury standpoint,” he said. “Now I feel healthy, and it’s been good so far and a great summer so far. It’s been a long summer now too, but I’m looking forward to jump on the ice again.”
