Partway through an $800K contract with the New York Rangers, two-time Stanley Cup champion Nick Bonino is on waivers.
With Rangers veteran centreman Nick Bonino being placed on waivers yesterday, the question stands, where will he go now?
Nick Bonino is a legend of recent history. He helped the Penguins significantly with their Stanley Cup championships in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. He racked up 18 goals and 19 assists in the latter season, and earned his place on the "HBK" line with then teammates Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin.
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But, and unsurprisingly at his age, pushing 36 years old, he is just not whom he once was.
His offense this season is underwhelming, having scored only a single goal and four assists with the Rangers.
Plus, he was a slow skater to begin with, and has only gotten slower.
Even if the Avalanche could make use of him, it would likely not be for very long. His production value this season sits at only an average of one point every 110 minutes and 17 seconds of gameplay. At that rate, he may retire before providing the Avs many goals or assists.
According to an article in The Daily Faceoff by Frank Seravalli, the Avalanche's current top objective is a second line centre.
Centre Ryan Johansen's $8M-cap hit contract ends next year, and he has performed below the Avalanche's high expectations. He has been offensively lukewarm, gathering just 11 goals and 18 points this season.
Even though Bonino is far cheaper, with an $800,000 contract with the Rangers expiring this year, that is still a large percentage of the Avalanche's $1.216M deadline cap space.
There is some benefit to having a seasoned veteran on your team that could be either overall team form, or in a way, having a "second coach" who knows the game's nuance and smaller details better than the rookies.
But in the end, contribution to the team's scoring is most important for a centre. The Avs want to win another cup, and they can't do that without goals and assists.
Even with trading off more expensive players, squeezing Bonino in for the sole purpose of having a vet on your team doesn't seem worth it.
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