Assistant Coach Spotlight: Nick Bonino

The Penguins will enter the 2025.26 season with a new group of assistant coaches under head coach Dan Muse: “You go through the entire coaching staff now, there's a lot of different places that these coaches have come from, experiences that they've had in the game, and so now you bring that all in together.” We are putting the spotlight on each member of the staff throughout training camp.

The day Dan Muse was named head coach of the Penguins on June 4, I reached out to Nick Bonino. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion with Pittsburgh had played for Muse in Nashville and New York, so I wanted to get his perspective. He was happy to chat, and said to call him any time the following day.

Because as it turns out, he was a little busy that particular day:

“Muser and I would always talk (strategy and ideas), and a few times, he said to me, ‘If I get a (head) coaching job, I’m going to give you a call.’ To his credit, he meant it and gave me a call that first day. When he called, as I was actually saying hi to him, I was bringing up the Pens Instagram because I was wondering if he got this job. And he did. … Had some good talks with him, and here we are.”

Bonino, 37, was officially named an assistant coach later that month. During games, Bonino will be on the bench. He will have a headset on to communicate with assistant coach Rich Clune, who will be an eye in the sky. Bonino will also work with the forwards, alongside assistant coach Todd Nelson, and on the penalty kill, alongside assistant coach Mike Stothers.

“I think one of the things Dan stresses is just how much of a committee we’re going to be this year,” Bonino said. “We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences playing and coaching. That’s invaluable. Obviously, I have a lot to learn when it comes to the day-to-day. But a lot of post-practice, pre-practice stuff with the guys, working with centers, all that stuff. I’m excited for it.”

The timing worked out well for Bonino, who had gone overseas following a 15-year professional playing career across the NHL and AHL. Bonino was set to play a second season with HK Olimipija Ljubljana, who competes in Austria’s top professional league, as it had been a fantastic experience. They were incredibly professional and understanding about the opportunity that opened up with Pittsburgh.

“Amazing city. Great organization. I will always be welcomed back there, they said,” Bonino said. “So, I would love to go back and visit. I can’t thank them enough. It was really fun to finish my career like that, even though I didn’t know it was finishing.

“I think when this all came about, it’s just an amazing opportunity. It’s something that I’ve always thought was a next step. For it to materialize like that after speaking with Muser and my wife (Lauren), it just felt like the right step and good for us and the family.”

Muse was thrilled that the timing was right. And while Muse would have offered him the job regardless of the organization, it’s nice that the job is here, of all places.

Bonino is a beloved figure in Penguins history, having played an integral role during the 2016 and ’17 runs, centering the HBK Line between Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. Bonino even scored the series-clinching goal in Round 2 against Washington in 2016, which gifted us with the legendary “BONINO BONINO BONINOOO!” call.

That familiarity with the organization and some of the key players has already been hugely beneficial to Bonino in his new role.

“It means a lot. I think it makes it a little bit easier coming back. We went through our roster evaluation, and if this was another team that I was coaching, I wouldn’t have been able to speak as much as I did,” said Bonino, who added that he spoke to Sidney Crosby right away.

“In typical Sid fashion, we’re right down to business and he wants to know how the year’s going to be. And I love that. I’m really excited to work with him, obviously, and with everyone... there’s a lot of guys, it’s really nice to know them. And it makes that transition a little bit easier.”

Bonino has been on the ice with the group for all of their training camp sessions thus far, wearing a black beanie (or toque, as they say in Canada) instead of a helmet. Crosby said that because they had so many conversations going in, it feels normal to see Bonino in a tracksuit instead of gear.

“He's a guy that you could probably always see would be cut out for being a good coach,” Crosby said. “He was always really aware of all the system stuff, really detailed, good communicator, and all those traits are going to be important for him as a coach.”

Hockey IQ has always been Bonino’s biggest strength, as he is such a cerebral player. It’s what allowed Bonino to play in the league for as long as he did and be so impactful.

“He just thought the game so well and knew what to do in certain situations, and knew how the game should be played,” Bryan Rust said. “And now him in a coaching capacity, he has that knowledge, plus he has the charisma and that kind of presence about him to command a room, and guys listen to him.”

As Bonino got older and more experienced, he really enjoyed having conversations with the coaches. That resulted in a lot of long chats with Muse.

“In New York especially, we'd have our kids at the same hockey program, and we're talking about the PK and just talking about life,” Bonino said. “We would talk a long time about the PK, because it's something I was really passionate about... and I liked just his ability to want to talk about it. You run into some coaches where it's their way or the highway. And I felt with him, if something wasn't working, he wanted to know what we think.”

And Bonino always has something on his mind.

“Some of my ideas are crazy. Some aren’t. But I always like thinking and pushing boundaries,” he said.

“He had great ideas as a player, and so, those will be the good conversations,” Muse said. “You could just tell he was somebody that I had hoped he'd want to get into coaching, I thought, because I feel like there's a lot of that he can bring to a coaching staff.”