Ducks bring back Bonino for one year.

Nick Bonino accepted the Ducks’ qualifying offer, bringing the restricted free-agent forward back on a one-year contract that pays $693,000 in the NHL and $65,000 in the AHL.

The 23-year-old center had no goals and no assists in 26 games last season for the Ducks, splitting the season between the NHL and American Hockey League. (Coincidentally, the only players who played more games without a point last season are Ducks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Matt Smaby, who just signed with the Ducks.)

His scoring touch was readily apparent in Syracuse, where he was nearly a point-per-game player (45 points in 50 games) for the Crunch. In both the AHL and NHL, Bonino was an above-average defensive player, and he saw time in four games of the Ducks’ first-round playoffs series against Nashville.

The Ducks liked Bonino so much that they sent Travis Moen and Kent Huskins to San Jose for him, Timo Pielmeier and a draft pick; Bonino will probably need to be an offensive force if he is to make the NHL roster out of training camp.

This entry was posted in Anaheim Ducks/NHL and tagged by J.P. Hoornstra. Bookmark the permalink.

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

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