The Nashville Predators have announced that center Thomas Novak will miss the next four to six weeks with an upper-body injury.
Novak, 26, likely suffered the injury during Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. However, he played the entirety of the game, including the final 25 seconds, so either he played through it in the game or the injury occurred after the game. He finished Saturday’s game with two assists, a penalty, and a shot on net in 17:15 of ice time as the Preds lost 7-5.
Novak’s current timeline for a return has him missing between 15 to 20 games, and will be back sometime in December with the latest timeline being just after the Christmas break.
Novak was off to a strong start this season, with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 14 games. It was a carryover from his productive rookie season in 2022-23, where he had 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points in 51 games.
Novak has also been one of the more efficient finishers since establishing a consistent role on the Predators last season, with his 16.67% 5v5 shooting percentage in the past two seasons ranking ninth among forwards with 750 minutes of ice time. It may also mean that he’s due for a regression in short order, but perhaps he can establish himself as an elite finisher throughout his career.
Novak was a third-round pick of the Preds in the 2015 NHL Draft and has spent the entirety of his three-season NHL career in Nashville. He’s currently on a one-year, $800,000 contract, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
The Predators also announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Spencer Stastny from the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL. He has one goal and three assists for four points in 10 games in the AHL so far this season.
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