He’ll never have to pay for a beer in Pittsburgh.
With two and a half minutes remaining in Game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, Nick Bonino slid in front of the net. He received a pass on his stick and tossed in a lefty shot for the game winner.
That helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win one of two Stanley Cups with Bonino on the team. It wasn’t his longest NHL tenure, but it was the place he wrote himself into league history.
Bonino announced his retirement at 37 years old after 15 NHL seasons. It was quite the journey.
Bonino, Bonino, Boninoooooo!
On this day in 2016, Harnarayan Singh gave us an absolutely ICONIC goal call on Nick Bonino’s game-winning goal in Game 1 of the #StanleyCup Final. pic.twitter.com/FOXXYIFKUx
— NHL (@NHL) May 30, 2024
He came to the pros as a sixth-round pick in 2007 by San Jose out of Boston University.
He broke into the NHL with five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
He’d go on to play for the Predators, Penguins, Sharkes, Canucks, Wild and Rangers.
In 868 career games, Bonino had 159 goals and 199 assists.
He didn’t play in the NHL in 2024-25 but hadn’t yet announced his retirement.
Those Penguins Cup-winning teams still have even bigger legends still playing in the form of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
But they were the guys celebrating back in 2016 Game 1, the biggest moment of Bonino’s career.
MORE: Penguins make shocking decision on Evgeni Malkin’s future in Pittsburgh
Read the full article here