Tommy Novak’s parents didn’t have to wait long to receive the call.
Soon after signing the dotted line on a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension, the 26-year-old forward got on the phone and dialed mom and dad.
“My mom, right away, said she just got flashbacks to when I was going to try out for my first AAA team and I was too nervous to get out of the car,” Novak said after team practice on Monday. “She pushed me to go in, and the rest is history.”
Safe to say, Novak has been far from nervous as of late.
The forward has recorded 13 points (5g-8a) in his last 13 games, a stretch that included two separate five-game point streaks from Jan. 29-Feb. 15 (3g-3a) and Feb. 20-27 (1g-4a) and two multi-point performances, the most recent of which came Saturday vs. Colorado (1g-1a).
The deal, which will keep Novak in Smashville through the 2026-27 campaign, was just the cherry on top.
“It's a pretty amazing thing,” Novak said. “Just thinking back on when I started playing hockey and where I came from in this organization to now, it's really special. And I'm truly grateful for the organization giving me the opportunities that I've gotten and hopefully I can keep a career going.”
The production out of the All-Star break was an encouraging turnaround for Novak, who’d struggled to rediscover his scoring touch after missing 11 games due to an upper-body injury sustained in early November.
“I think his game was turning around, maybe five or six games before the break,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “I think we all take responsibility. I don't know if he was completely ready to play, and he did and it took a little while and then he lost his confidence… And as confidence goes, you start playing better and start getting chances, and they may not go in, but if you stick with it and you have resiliency with it, they will. And for Tommy it has, and he's playing at a really high level right now.”
Addressing the media Monday, Brunette additionally credited Novak as one the Predators ‘secondary leaders,’ alongside forwards Michael McCarron and Cody Glass.
Of course, Nashville’s primary leadership group concurred.
"He's done an amazing job,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said of Novak. “It's such a cool story. He's young, but he's not the youngest guy. I remember the first time he played here, I think it was like two or three years ago, we were all like, 'Oh my gosh, this guy is really good, really skilled.' And then he ran into some injury trouble, but ever since he's been up here again, he's been an amazing player and a great playmaker.”
Novak, who would have entered free agency at the end of the season without a new deal, naturally piqued media attention as the trade deadline crept closer. Now with the speculation and uncertainty behind him, Novak can fully focus on the task at hand alongside his teammates.
"It's definitely something you think about,” he said. “Just to have that security and to be here for the next three years, I can just focus on playing hockey now. Not that I wasn't before, but it just gives you peace of mind, for sure."
Novak is back in action Tuesday as the Predators face the Montreal Canadiens and work to establish the second-longest winning streak in franchise history with their ninth consecutive victory.
“We have a lot of confidence right now,” Novak said. “We've seen ourselves playing at a high level for a bit now, and I think it just gives us confidence to go in against anybody and just focus on our game, play our game and good things should happen.”
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