Anyone who followed the Pittsburgh Penguins and their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and 2017 remembers the “HBK Line.”
And – on Thursday – two legs of it were reunited.
During the team’s practice ahead of this weekend’s NHL Global Series at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, assistant coach Nick Bonino and former Penguins’ forward Carl Hagelin – who resides near Stockholm – had the chance to reunite. The two were part of Pittsburgh’s storied HBK Line during the 2016 Stanley Cup run, which included Hagelin, Bonino, and Phil Kessel (the “K”).
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The line combined for 15 goals and 46 points in 24 games during the Penguins’ 2016 playoff run.
“Bones, my old center… he’s looking good,” Hagelin told Pens Inside Scoop. “He’s done a good job. He really looks like a coach on the bench.”
Bonino, 37, played 15 NHL seasons and recorded 159 goals and 358 points in 868 games. He spent two seasons in Pittsburgh between 2015-17, winning two Cups. He also had a brief second stint with the Penguins after the trade deadline in 2023, but he only played in three games due to injury.
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As a player, Bonino put up 27 goals and 66 points in 146 regular season games with the Penguins – as well as eight goals and 25 points in 45 playoff games. He is now coaching the Penguins as an assistant.
Hagelin, 37, played in 12 NHL seasons and registered 110 goals and 296 points in 713 NHL games. He was with the Penguins from 2015 to the 2018-19 season, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings mid-season. Hagelin had 27 goals and 83 points in 195 games with Pittsburgh.
The Swedish forward spent his last three-plus seasons with the Washington Capitals, where he was forced to retire early due to an eye injury during the 2021-22 season.
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