Former Devils forward Tomas Nosek has opened up about his decision to join the Florida Panthers, despite their rivalry with the Boston Bruins during the 2023 playoffs.
Last summer, the New Jersey Devils signed Nosek for a bargain price of $1 million for one year. As a former Bruins player, Nosek was brought in by General Manager Tom Fitzgerald for his tough play, solid defensive metrics, and penalty-killing abilities. This offseason, Nosek has moved on to South Florida, signing with the Florida Panthers.
After the 2023-24 season, Nosek expressed his desire to return to the Devils, despite his brief stint there.
“I hope we can find some way [to make it work],” said Nosek. “My family loved it here, so we will have that talk for sure. I’m looking forward to it and I hope we can find some way to work things out.”
Reflecting on his injury-plagued season, which included foot surgery in November, Nosek acknowledged the challenges but saw them as learning experiences.
“It is what it is. Everybody has been in that situation at some point, and there’s no reason to hide behind it,” Nosek said. “It was a disappointing season obviously [due to] injury, production, & playing only half a season — not even. Obviously, the team didn’t make the playoffs so it’s been a disappointing season, but at the same time, you learn from those mistakes and you move on and try to find your way back on top.”
Nosek reached the pinnacle of the NHL on July 1st, signing a one-year deal with the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.
The Panthers, despite offseason changes to their lineup, remain a formidable team. Nosek signed for the league minimum of $775K, emphasizing that his decision was driven by the desire to win a championship, not by money.
“That’s why I signed here,” Nosek explained to Florida Hockey Now. “When I started playing regularly in the NHL, it was my first year in Vegas and we went all the way to the Final. Since then, I have been chasing the Final again.
“Every year, you want to win; when you get older, you want to win more because you know there’s not much time left. You try to pick a team with a real chance, and I think the Panthers are that. I hope we can do it again together.”
Despite a rocky 2023-24 season, Nosek remains confident. Now feeling healthy, he believes he can return to his former Bruins form, where he scored seven goals and 18 points, winning 59.3% of faceoffs in 2022-23 as a bottom-six checking forward.
“Last season was not good from an injury standpoint, I missed half the season and it took me a while to get to my game,’’ Nosek said. “I think my final 20 games showed what I can do. I feel healthy now, it’s been a good summer — a long summer — but I’m looking forward to jumping on the ice again.’’
Nosek was part of the intense first-round rivalry matchup between the Bruins and Panthers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In Game 2, Nosek had a heated exchange with Matthew Tkachuk. Despite their past conflict, Nosek is confident they can move forward. The Bruins were eventually eliminated by the Panthers in seven games.
“I am not the first or the last person to have some discussions between the benches, or whatever,’’ Nosek said with a chuckle. “So, it is part of hockey, there are no hard feelings at all. I had not even thought about it before you asked about it. Don’t think it will be a problem.’’
Unfortunately, Nosek’s decision to join the Panthers means he will miss the NHL’s Global Series in his home country when the Devils face the Buffalo Sabres in Prague. Instead, he’ll join the Panthers in Finland when they take on the Dallas Stars as part of the Global Series in November.
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