CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Nick Bonino started making phone calls not long after he was named an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I called [Sidney Crosby] right away," Bonino said. "Typical Sid fashion, we're right down to business and he wants to know, like, how the year is going to be. I love that."
Bonino won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, mostly playing third-line center behind Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He returns in a new role to a changed environment.
Crosby and Malkin still are around, along with defenseman Kris Letang and forward Bryan Rust.
The other names from those two championship runs have left. Mike Sullivan, coach for 10 seasons, parted ways with Pittsburgh on April 28 after the Penguins missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs a third straight season.
Dan Muse was hired as coach June 4. Bonino, Todd Nelson and Rich Clune were named assistants June 20. Mike Stothers joined as a fourth assistant June 30.
So much is new that even the Penguins are left wondering exactly what they are.
"I think the verbiage we're going to use is probably going to be decided on later," Bonino said. "I think everyone knows what it takes to win. At some level everyone's won something, for the most part. As we go on here, like, we've only met for two days, but I think we all have the same idea that we want to get to a place like Florida is at right now, and the teams that have won, and that we used to be here. That's the goal."
Bonino had 358 points (159 assists, 199 goals) in 868 games during 15 NHL seasons with seven teams. He played last season with HK Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia, and he signed a one-year contract to play another season there April 27. Instead he announced his retirement as a player June 18.
"It was really fast," Bonino said. "I'd have to touch on how professional and amazing Ljubljana was. ... [The team owner] had told me the day I signed that if it wasn't good for the family, then we could go. It was amazing for the family, but I think when this all came about, it's just an amazing opportunity.
"It's something I've always thought was the next step. For it to materialize like that, after speaking with [Muse] and my wife, it felt like the right step and good for us and the family."
Muse coached Bonino as an assistant twice. They were together with the Nashville Predators from 2017-20 and the New York Rangers in 2023-24.
"'Muser' and I would always talk," Bonino said. "A few times he said to me, 'If I get a coaching job, I'm going to give you a call.'"
Bonino's phone rang June 4.
"To his credit, he meant it," Bonino said. "As I was saying, 'Hi,' to him, I was bringing up the Pens' Instagram because I was like, 'I wonder if he got this job.' And he did. I said, 'Oh, this is nice. This is really cool.'"
The 37-year-old became more comfortable speaking with coaches later in his playing career. But Bonino hasn't been sold on coaching for all that long.
"Fully known, it's been like two weeks," he said. "I think as my career went on, I always said I'd love to coach. I think it's easy to see players, probably when I played with them, I'm always talking. Some of my ideas are crazy. Some aren't. But I always like thinking and pushing boundaries."
Bonino will see some familiar faces when he walks into the Penguins dressing room. In addition to Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Rust, he and defenseman Erik Karlsson were teammates with the San Jose Sharks from 2021-23. And goalie Tristan Jarry played one game as a rookie with the Penguins in 2016-17 and was the primary starter when Bonino returned to Pittsburgh from San Jose in a three-team trade on March 3, 2023.
"I talked with 'Tanger' and 'Karl.' Still tracking down 'Geno,'" Bonino said. "It's exciting. I was really excited to talk with 'Rusty.' He had a great year last year. 'Jars' too. I'm near Jars in the summer. His first thing was, 'Oh, you can't shoot on me anymore.' I told him, 'I'll be shooting on you all year.' There are a lot of guys.
"It's really nice to know them. It makes that transition a little bit easier."
Bonino isn't sure where his coaching career now could lead. Maybe he'll be a head coach. Maybe he won't want to be.
For now, he's just trying to adjust.
"I had to learn the computer for two hours yesterday, slowing everyone down. Just how to clip video and stuff," Bonino said. "I think that's the easy stuff that'll come. For me, it'll just be finding your voice and having conversations with guys, good and bad. I think all that's a learning curve.
"Like I said, it's a good staff, especially with 'Muser' leading the way."
