Old face coming back to the ‘Burgh in a new role
Nick Bonino recently told Slovenian team HK Olimpija Ljubljana and their fans that he wouldn’t be playing for them this upcoming season like he first planned to do. Bonino will shift gears, retire from being an active player and become a coach with the Penguins.
Nick Bonino himself confirms he is joining Dan Muse’s coaching staff as an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins!
Welcome home bones! pic.twitter.com/2QYRWBszEw
— Scott Crowell (@scottcrowell18) June 18, 2025
“I just wanted to officially announce I will be retiring from professional hockey. I had a really unique opportunity come up to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s something that we thought was the best move for our family at this time. Tough decision because we had an absolute blast in Ljubljana, it was so welcoming to us, can’t thank the fans enough for the support.”
The Penguins have not yet announced Bonino’s hiring, it remains unclear if Bonino will be a regular assistant on the bench with new head coach Dan Muse or some sort of developmental coach with the club next season as he makes this transition into the next stage of his career.
Bonino spent last season with Ljubljana. Bonino finished up in the NHL the season prior in 2023-24 with the New York Rangers after playing three games in Pittsburgh in an injury-shortened return back in 2022-23.
Bonino, 37, is slightly younger than his former teammates and now players of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The group won Stanley Cups together in 2016 and 2017 and now will be reuniting in a different format.
The rest of Muse’s coaching staff has yet to be named, as has this one technically, but it looks like there is plenty of movement behind the scenes as the Pens sort out who is jumping on board to replace the prior coaching staff.