Pavel Novák Clears Unconditional Waivers
Saturday: Novák has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. That will pave the way for his deal to be terminated.
Friday: The Wild have placed right-winger Pavel Novák on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, the team announced Friday. It’s likely a mutual termination.
Novák, 22, was on assignment to ECHL Iowa to begin the season, going without a point and posting a -1 rating in two games. He also spent most of last season down a level with the Heartlanders, tying for fifth on the team in scoring with 27 points (14 G, 13 A) in 44 games.
It wasn’t groundbreaking production by any stretch, especially at the ECHL level. But it was a statement campaign for Novák, who had missed all of the 2022-23 campaign while undergoing treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Minnesota 2020 fifth-round pick just lost too much development time when combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, though, and never got much of a chance to progress past the 58 points in 55 games that got him drafted out of WHL Kelowna five years ago.
The mutual termination will allow Novák to pursue professional opportunities in Europe, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. He also appeared in 13 AHL games for the Wild last season, recording two goals and an assist in 13 appearances.
Novák was in the final season of a three-year, entry-level contract worth $2.54MM that he signed back in 2022. He already earned an $80K signing bonus for this season and was earning a $75K salary while playing in the minors.
Central Notes: Minnesota Injuries, Perfetti, Ohgren
The Minnesota Wild are nursing a few injuries up-and-down the roster in addition to star forward Matt Boldy missing the next few weeks due to a lower-body injury. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports Reese Johnson, Pavel Novak, and Michael Milne are all out with mild upper-body injuries with the latter having yet to practice with the team during training camp.
None of the three were expected to be impact players for the Wild this season with Johnson having the highest odds of the trio to crack the opening night roster. Johnson joined Minnesota this offseason on a one-year league minimum contract and already has seven goals and 17 points in 141 games with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2021-2024. Johnson would be isolated to a bottom-six role with the Wild but will likely start in a ‘first man up’ role with AHL Iowa.
Novak and Milne are starting their third seasons with the Wild organization but have exclusively played in the minor leagues. Novak is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he primarily played for the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 44 contests. Milne has yet to be demoted to the ECHL as he scored eight goals and 21 points in 40 games for the AHL Wild last year in a bottom-six role when healthy.
Other Central notes:
- The Winnipeg Jets and forward Cole Perfetti made zero progress on an extension over the weekend reports Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. The negotiations appear to be a classic case of the player asking too much from the organization’s perspective and the team offering too low from the player’s perspective. Billeck also reported the Jets are unwilling to consider the recent short-term deal for Dawson Mercer and the long-term deal for Dylan Guenther as comparables to Perfetti. He’s still staying on the ice to prepare for the regular season but he and the team have a little over two weeks to get an extension done befor the start of the regular season on October 9th.
- Back in Minnesota, the organization is eager about the first full season for forward prospect Liam Ohgren. General manager Bill Guerin believes Ohgren can be a flexible winger for the team this season by saying, “The thing I like about Liam, he can play on all four lines. I really feel like Liam can complement any of the four lines he plays on, which is good for him. That brings a value at a young age, and the fact we could fit him in the top six or he can play a different role, that’s a benefit” (Subscription Article). Ohgren scored one goal and two points over four games in his NHL debut last season after scoring 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games for the SHL’s Färjestad BK.
Snapshots: Clifton, Novak, Marlies
Signing a three-year, $10MM contract with the Buffalo Sabres shortly after the market opened on July 1st, defenseman Connor Clifton had no shortage of offers. In an article from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, he passes along a note from Clifton’s agent, Eric Quinlan, that the defenseman had as many as 10 offers, one of which was for a longer-term and higher AAV than what he eventually signed in Buffalo.
It’s not difficult to ascertain why Clifton ultimately picked the Sabres as his landing spot, as they are considered one of the most exciting upstart teams in all of hockey. Clifton ultimately brings what the organization needs. The Sabres were great offensively last season, illustrated by their 3.57 GF/G (third in NHL), but they struggled defensively, finishing 27th in the league in GA/G with a 3.62 mark.
Clifton is most known for his skill on the defensive side of the puck, but he did produce better offensively with the Boston Bruins last season, scoring five goals and 18 assists in 78 games. His defensive attributes will be more of what the Sabres are expecting on this deal, as Clifton’s career oiSV% (Team On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations) of 92.4% will dramatically help the team keep the puck out of their net.
Other snapshots:
- In a very heartwarming story, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports that Minnesota Wild prospect, Pavel Novak, is now completely cancer-free. Unfortunately, he will not participate in the team’s development camp due to a lower-body injury, but beating cancer is a big enough victory in and of itself. Novak was originally drafted 146th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, last playing competitive hockey during the 2021-22 season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. In that last full year of play, Novak impressed at the junior level, scoring 72 points in 62 games.
- The Toronto Marlies filled out a good majority of their roster today, announcing one-year extensions for Matthew Hellickson, Tommy Miller, Matteo Pietroniro, Zach Solow, and Keenan Suthers. Of the group, Suthers is the only player that did not feature for the Marlies last season, as the rest of the players will likely be used mostly as depth next season.
Snapshots: Novak, Robertson, DeBrincat
There’s no better news than the kind Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak shared today, announcing that he is now cancer-free. The 20-year-old forward was diagnosed in June and after undergoing treatment, released the following on his Instagram page today:
After a few months of troubles, I’m happy to share with you that I beat the cancer. There is no better feeling than to be healthy again. I would like to say thank you to all the doctors who helped me get over this. You’re my heroes. The biggest thank you to my parents and sister who always supported me and went through treatment with me. It wouldn’t work without you. Also thank you to everyone who was praying for me!
I’m really excited about what the future brings.
Novak, 20, was the 146th pick of the 2020 draft and dominated with the Kelowna Rockets last season, scoring 29 goals and 72 points in 62 games. It is not clear yet when he will return to competitive hockey but the news is certainly encouraging.
- While Kevin Weekes of ESPN tweeted this morning to keep an eye on the Dallas Stars, Darren Dreger of TSN suggests that a “major shift” might be needed in order to have Jason Robertson signed in time for the start of the regular season. There is still more than a week before Dallas kicks things off against the Nashville Predators on October 13 but there is no indication at this point that a deal is imminent. Robertson remains unsigned and will have to ink a contract by December 1 to play at all this season.
- That wasn’t the only contract situation that Weekes tweeted about. The NHL insider also suggested that the Ottawa Senators are “actively working” to try and reach an extension with Alex DeBrincat, after acquiring him this summer. The situation is “fluid” according to Weekes, which suggests nothing is imminent on that front either. It does make sense that the Senators would be trying to sign the two-time 40-goal man but it will take a big number to lock up DeBrincat. The 24-year-old is owed a $9MM qualifying offer for next season, his last before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2024.
Snapshots: Bergeron, Kostopoulos, Novak
The hockey world exploded last night when a report surfaced from Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette indicating that Patrice Bergeron had decided to return for one more year with the Boston Bruins. While nothing has been announced yet, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and Matt Porter of the Boston Globe reported that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney will meet with Bergeron next week.
There’s no doubt that getting the five-time Selke Trophy winner back would improve the Bruins chances of contending next season, though they will still be starting the year without key players like Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy after recent surgeries. The team also needs a head coach in the meantime, with Porter writing that David Quinn, Jim Montgomery, and Jay Leach are currently the leading candidates.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have promoted Tom Kostopoulos to director of player development, following the departure of Scott Young to the Vancouver Canucks earlier today. Kostopoulos has been with the organization as a development coach for the past four seasons and had previously played in the system as captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The team also promoted Madison Nikkel to video coach.
- Minnesota Wild prospect Pavel Novak has announced that he was recently diagnosed with an oncological disease and will begin treatment soon, pushing back any of his offseason training. The 20-year-old forward had a great season for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL and would have likely been part of the Czech World Junior roster this summer, after being named to it in December before the tournament was postponed. Selected 146th overall in 2020, Novak is confident that he will be able to resume his playing career at some point.
Minnesota Wild Sign Pavel Novak
The front office work for a team never stops, even when they’re in the thick of a tight playoff series. The Minnesota Wild have signed Pavel Novak to a three-year entry-level contract that starts next season. Novak spent this season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL but saw his season end last month with a first-round defeat.
Novak, 20, was a fifth-round pick of the Wild in 2020, after his first season in North America. While that season will be remembered most for the 58 points in 55 games he scored, the young forward also made an impression with an eight-game suspension for a brutal hit from behind, when he sent a Kamloops Blazers player flying into the boards. That kind of play is actually rather uncommon for Novak, who was given just 14 penalty minutes this season when he returned to the WHL after spending 2020-21 back in the Czech Republic.
A talented offensive player, he had 29 goals and 72 points in 62 games this season, while also taking a short break to attend the World Junior tournament that was ultimately postponed. Despite turning 20 last month, he will still be eligible for the event when it is held later this summer, though this time he’ll be there representing the Wild.
Novak will be eligible to play in the AHL next season and his entry-level contract will kick in regardless of where he spends the year.