The Pittsburgh Penguins got forward Nick Bonino from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team trade with the Montreal Canadiens.
The Pittsburgh Penguins finally announced they re-acquired a familiar face after reports in the wee hours of Friday morning.
The Penguins receives forward Nick Bonino in a three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. The Sharks receive defenseman Arvid Henrikson, a 2023 seventh-round pick and a 2024 fifth-round pick. The Canadiens retain half of Bonino's remaining salary and receives defenseman Tony Sund and a 2024 fifth-round pick as a result.
The 34-year-old Bonino is in the final year of his current contract, which carries a cap hit of $2.05 million and will be a UFA at season's end.
Bonino is something of a cult hero in Pittsburgh these days, having won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the club back in 2016 and 2017 as a featured member of the famous "HBK" line with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel.
After departing from the Penguins in the 2017 off-season, Bonino then proceeded to reach the Cup final the very next year with the Nashville Predators, thereby earning himself the reputation of an effective depth center for teams in the midst of contention.
Of course, five years have passed since then, and Bonino is no longer quite the player he once was. But the veteran still has some tricks up his sleeve this late into his career, having racked up 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 59 games with the Sharks this season, all while logging over 16 minutes in average nightly ice time and beginning just 42.3 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone.
Clearly, Bonino was still being relied on to shoulder his team's defensive load up front in San Jose. And while the Penguins will be able to lighten his responsibilities somewhat due to the strength of their roster, it's still a luxury to know they have a player like Bonino who is capable of taking on these tough assignments as Pittsburgh tries to keep their playoff hopes alive.