The fourth line grinder is back with the Vegas Golden Knights.
News has been quiet not just on the Vegas Golden Knights front, but in the NHL as well. This is officially the dead time in the NHL. However, with all the top unrestricted free agents already off the board, teams are focused on signing their restricted free agents.
The Vegas Golden Knights still have to sign fellow RFA’s William Karlsson and Shea Theodore. Although, it looks as if the Golden Knights have taken care with one more of their own free agents.
On Tuesday evening, the Golden Knights and Tomas Nosek avoid arbitration and sign a one-year deal worth $962,500. Nosek is an important piece for the Golden Knights moving forward. Out of the three players on the Golden Knights fourth line, Nosek shows the most promise.
Nosek played his first full NHL season with the Golden Knights in 2017-18. The Pardubice, Czechoslovakia native previously played for the Detriot Red Wings organization. He was let go by Detroit in the expansion draft after few NHL opportunities.
Nosek answered with a decent year on the Golden Knights fourth line. In 67 games, he notched seven goals, eight assists, and 15 points. Sure, those aren’t gaudy numbers by any stretch. But his physicality and penalty killing made him a threat on the Gerard Gallant’s fourth line.
His linemates Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Ryan Reaves really helped him along the way to become a better player. Both players have assisted Nosek in both of his best abilities in the game. He also continued his success into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In 17 postseason games, Nosek totaled four goals, two assists, and six points. He played his best hockey in the Stanley Cup Final. His memorable moment came by scoring the game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals.
Everyone will forever know him as the first Golden Knights player to score at T-Mobile Arena. It was an emotional scene that night, and for Nosek to come out and score two and half minutes into the game was one of the best moments of the season.
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All in all, This is an excellent deal for the Vegas Golden Knights and Tomas Nosek. Nosek can bet on himself to have an even better year than he had last year, and he comes at a very affordable price for general manager George McPhee. Now the next order of business for McPhee is signing his 40 goal scorer from a season ago.