SUNRISE, Fla. -- Nick Bonino had a pretty good idea that he'd be traded ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline. He was aware of the rumors.
He was a pending unrestricted free agent on a Sharks team in the basement of the league standings. As an older player at 34 years old, it would only make sense for a rebuilding Sharks team to ship him out for draft picks or prospects and send Bonino to a playoff team.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier kept Bonino in the loop throughout the process, and informed him that he had a deal in place on Thursday night.
Bonino would be going back to the Penguins, after spending two seasons in Pittsburgh in 2015-17 and winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.
It was just like old times for Bonino on Saturday afternoon, showing up to the Panthers' FLA Live Arena for the Penguins' 6:08 p.m. game, walking in alongside an old buddy in Sidney Crosby.
"It feels great," Bonino told me when I asked him how it feels to be a Penguin again. "Even being at the rink this morning - I've been on new teams a bunch of times. You come back into a room with everyone you know, it feels good. The guys are all very welcoming, the guys I haven't met. So it was a good start."
The Penguins feel pretty good about having Bonino back, too.
"We're thrilled to have him," Mike Sullivan said of Bonino. "First and foremost, he's a real good person, just an unbelievable teammate. He has established relationships with our core guys, I know they have a ton of respect for him. I think he'll not only help us on the ice, but he'll help us on the ice in so many ways. When you look at how our team has changed here over the last week or so, one of the areas where we think he can help us immediately is on the PK."
Bonino got into Florida late on Friday night, and the Penguins didn't have a morning skate on Saturday. His first time back on the ice with his new teammates will be when the puck drops against the Panthers on Saturday evening. He hasn't even had much time for film study, either. He was asked Saturday if the Penguins' system is pretty much the same as it was when he was last here.
"I've got to go learn that right now," he said, nodding his head over toward the Penguins' locker room. "But I've played with a bunch of systems, so I don't think it should be too much of an issue."
Bonino doesn't think that his own game has evolved much since he was last in Pittsburgh -- he tries to play a complete of a game as he can. If anything, he skates more now, focusing on moving his feet more.
Off the ice he's changed a little more over the last six years.
"I'm fully bald, now," he said with a grin. "I've got three beautiful kids who have grown up a lot. A lot changes, but I feel as good as ever. I feel like I'm in a good spot right now."
