Tomas Nosek Loved Time with Panthers So Much, He’s Back for More

SUNRISE — Tomas Nosek went from being an afterthought on the Florida Panthers following the NHL Trade Deadline to an integral part of the team that won the Stanley Cup.

Nosek, while on the ice celebrating Florida’s Stanley Cup victory on June 17, said he was hopeful he would return.

And he will be.

Nosek, 32, won the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Panthers and said finally being able to lift it above his head was “a dream come true.’’

Tuesday, he agreed to another one-year deal with the Panthers and will return as the team’s fourth-line center.

”I just cannot find the right words to match my emotions right now,’’ Nosek said after Game 6.

“It is just an amazing feeling. You keep dreaming of it. I lost in one Final, and I did not know whether I would ever get this chance again. It is amazing. Just amazing.’’

Nosek joined the Panthers on a one-year deal last summer worth $775,000 after spending the previous season with the New Jersey Devils. He will be getting a similar contract for 2025-26.

Injured during the preseason, Nosek did not make his debut with the Panthers until the Finland series but he spent most of the year as Florida’s fourth line center.

That was until the Panthers acquired Nico Sturm.

Sturm took over much of the fourth line duties with Nosek playing in just eight games after the trade.

Coach Paul Maurice, while resting others, had put Florida’s initial fourth line of Nosek, AJ Greer, and Jonah Gadjovich back together and noted that one some nights, “it was our best line.’’

Nosek sat for the entirety of the Tampa Bay series, and the first two games against the Maple Leafs in Round 2.

After the Game 2 loss in Toronto, Maurice decided that he liked what he had seen from Greer — but the team needed a spark.

He put his fourth line back in, and, things quickly changed.

That fourth line, Maurice noted, sparked Florida’s comeback against the Maple Leafs with Nosek appearing to score in Game 3 — only it clipped the leg of Gadjovich before going in.

Gadjovich’s first NHL playoff goal was on account of Nosek.

That fourth line played so well for the Panthers, Maurice made sure they were on the ice for the final seconds of Game 6 so they could throw their equipment into the air when the horn sounded.

“Yeah, I didn’t start in the playoffs and it was a little tough,’’ Nosek said. “But we helped change the course of the Toronto series a little bit, tried to help the team. It is a great feeling.’’

Of course, the jubilant Panthers did not wait for the horn before rushing onto the ice to celebrate along the end boards.

That celebration, Maurice putting the fourth line out, everyone treating the other like an equal, meant something to Nosek.

He said he has never been part of a group like this.

“This is an amazing team,’’ Nosek said. “What a great group of guys who I am proud to be a part of. Everyone in that room treated me so great. They took me in. It was fantastic.’’

2024 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2025

FLORIDA PANTHERS

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• Start of NHL Free Agency: Today, noon
• Panthers Development Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Today-Thursday
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September, Wesley Chapel
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Starts Sept. 21 @ Nashville (doubleheader)
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)