2024-25 Season in Review: Philip Tomasino

Tomasino heading into restricted free agency after his first season with the Pens.

Vitals

Player: Philip Tomasino
Born: July 28, 2001 (Age 23 season)
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 190 pounds
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Shoots: Right
Draft: 2019 first round (24th overall) by the Nashville Predators
2024-25 Statistics: 50 games played, 11 goals, 12 assists = 23 points
Contract Status: Tomasino is set to hit restricted free agency now that his $825,000 AAV contract has expired after the 2024-25 season.
History: Tomasino was acquired from the Predators in November in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Monthly Splits

via Yahoo!

Tomasino was traded from the Predators on Nov. 25.

Story of the Season

The Penguins picked up Tomasino from the Predators in exchange for a fourth-round pick on Nov. 25.

Preds general manager Barry Trotz said at the time the franchise had decided to trade Tomasino because there were “a lot of question marks” around a forward who had become a frequent healthy scratch in Nashville.

The Pens were off to a 7-12-4 start to the season and looking for a boost, while Tomasino was looking for an extended shot at the NHL after receiving limited playing time in his last three seasons with the Preds.

Both parties immediately found what they were looking for in Pittsburgh. Tomasino took advantage of the chance to play on Evgeni Malkin’s line by scoring three goals in his first five games as a Penguin, during which the team went 4-1-0.

That span led to a stretch during which the Penguins climbed into a playoff spot and looked— at least for a time— like a team with postseason hopes.

Tomasino was later moved down to the bottom six. He missed multiple stretches of the season due to injury. But he still finished the season ranking second only to Sidney Crosby with six game-winning goals.

“Overall, I think I’ve definitely grown a lot from the start of when I got here ‘til the end,” Tomasino said after the end of the season.

Regular season 5v5 advanced stats

Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 17 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.

Corsi For%: 51.87% (8th)
Goals For%: 42.55% (11th)
xGF%: 49.27% (10th)
Scoring Chance %: 51.74% (5th)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 50.44% (12th)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 7.55% (12th)
On-ice save%: .89.62% (9th)
Goals/60: 0.81 (6th)
Assist/60: 0.71 (11th)
Points/60: 1.52 (9th)

Tomasino scored 11 goals in 50 games with the Pens, putting him on pace for 18 goals in a full season. That would have ranked him behind only Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust as the fourth-most productive forward during a full season.

Charts n’at

Via Advanced Hockey Stats and NHL Edge

Tomasino ended the season in the Pens’ bottom six among a rotating group of call-ups, which contributed to his low teammates percentile ranking. He played the last game of the season on a line with Connor Dewar and Joona Koppanen.

Where Tomasino excelled is highlighted by Advanced Hockey Stats: His work on the forecheck and on the rush was a regular driver of offense for the Pens this season.

Tomasino wasn’t a top skater in terms of speed last season, and he never skated over 22 miles per hour with the Pens, according to NHL EDGE.

(In comparison, Erik Karlsson ranked in the 98th percentile of NHL skaters with a top speed of 23.67 miles per hour, per NHL EDGE.)

But Tomasino did spent more than 44 percent of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone. That’s good for 91st percentile in the NHL and higher than the Penguins’ overall team average of 42.9 percent, per NHL EDGE.

Highlights

Questions to ponder

If Tomasino returns to Pittsburgh next fall, will he get another shot on Malkin’s line, where he found the most success during his first season with the team? Or will he be campaigning for a spot in the bottom six?

Another question: What is Tomasino’s ceiling if he is able to play a fully healthy season in the NHL for the first time in his career?

Ideal 2025-26

If the Penguins decide to re-sign Tomasino to a short-term deal, Tomasino could hope to record a breakout campaign during his first full season in Pittsburgh. The Pens could meanwhile bolster their bottom six for a relatively cheap price.

Bottom line

If Kyle Dubas decides to bring Tomasino in for another season, whoever is named next head coach of the Penguins will be tasked with helping the 23-year-old take the next step forward in his NHL career.