Penguins bring back forward Nick Bonino in multi-team trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins have brought back a familiar face.

Forward Nick Bonino, a key component of the franchise’s two most recent Stanley Cup championship squads, was reacquired via a trade involving the San Jose Sharks on Friday.

There are several components to the transaction, which involves the Montreal Canadiens.

Per a release from the Sharks:

• The Sharks dealt Bonino and a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft to the Canadiens in exchange for the NHL rights of unsigned forward prospect Arvid Henriksson.

• Additionally, the Sharks dealt the signing rights of defensive prospect Tony Sund to the Penguins for a conditional 2024 fifth-round draft pick and a 2023 seventh-round draft pick. The conditional fifth-round pick can become a fourth-round selection in the same year should the Penguins advance to this season’s Eastern Conference final.

• Finally, the Penguins acquired Bonino from the Canadiens, who retained 50% of Bonino’s salary cap hit of $2.05 million ($1.025 million), in exchange for Sund’s rights.

Bonino (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) has appeared in 59 games this season and has 19 points (10 goals, nine assists). This marks the seventh consecutive season Bonino has reached double-digit figures in goals.

Typically deployed among the team’s bottom-six forwards, Bonino has averaged 16:13 of average ice time per contest this season and leads the Sharks’ forwards in short-handed ice time, clocking an average of 2:14 per contest.

A strong faceoff presence throughout most of his career, the left-handed Bonino (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) has had a down season in that regard, winning only 48.5% of his draws (205 wins, 218 losses). He is second among NHL forwards in blocked shots with 74.

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Under former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, the Penguins originally acquired Bonino through a trade with the Vancouver Canucks in July of 2015. In his first two seasons with the Penguins (2015-16 and 2016-17), Bonino appeared in 143 games and scored 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists).

For a significant portion of that time, Bonino centered a line that included wingers Carl Hagelin as well as Phil Kessel, and that trio became known as the HBK Line due to a particularly productive run in the 2016 postseason that led to the first of two consecutive Stanley Cup championships.

In the 2017 offseason, Bonino joined the Nashville Predators as an unrestricted free agent, signing a four-year contract that carried a salary cap hit of $4.1 million.

In the past seven days, current general manager Ron Hextall has significantly overhauled a lackluster group of bottom-six forwards.

On Feb 24, third-line winger Kasperi Kapanen was waived and was claimed by the Blues one day later. By Tuesday, fellow third-line winger Brock McGinn was waived. After clearing waivers Wednesday, McGinn and reserve defenseman Mark Friedman were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. McGinn was traded to Anaheim on Friday.

Also on Wednesday, the team dealt away long-time fourth-line center Teddy Blueger to the Vegas Golden Knights in a transaction that cleared salary cap space to acquire versatile forward Mikael Granlund in a trade with the Predators.

Granlund made his debut with the Penguins on Thursday during a 5-4 overtime road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Primarily deployed as a right winger on the fourth line, Granlund logged 16:16 of ice time on 23 shifts and was 4 for 10 on faceoffs. Granlund also saw ample usage on the penalty kill, clocking 3:50 of short-handed ice time.

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