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Give Pavelski Another Assist, Bonino Wanted to Play Center Again

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The Sharks should add another assist to Joe Pavelski’s San Jose ledger.

UFA Andrew Cogliano, who signed a one-year, $1 million dollar pact with the San Jose Sharks today, credited his recent Stars teammate and ex-Sharks captain for selling him on San Jose.

“I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with [Pavelski] the last couple years and talked to him about it. He told me that he thought it’d be a very good fit,” Cogliano shared. “I trust his opinion in terms of the fit of the team and in the living. He just thought it would be a good scenario for me as a guy that could come in and add an element to the team that maybe they need.

“He told me that there were a lot of young players there last year. Those young players will be there again this year. But when you add in some other elements like veteran guys, it can help them, but also it can help me.”

Good Friends

One friendly face guided Cogliano to San Jose, another friendly face awaits.

Cogliano and fellow UFA signing Nick Bonino were teammates in Anaheim from 2011 to 2014, and have stayed friends. They also exchanged compliments this afternoon.

“[Bonino is] the type of guy, he wins. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He’s been in tough games, tough scenarios. He’s a player that a lot of good things follow,” Cogliano said of Bonino, who inked a two-year, $4.1 million contract with the Sharks. “He does things the right way. And like I said, I think a lot of guys on San Jose will really get a new appreciation for Bones because when you play with him, you realize that he’s a guy that does all the little things that win games, and really, win championships.”

Meanwhile, Bonino noted of Cogliano: “Wears his heart on his sleeve, plays as hard as he can, every shift. Off the ice too, I learned a lot from playing with him.

“He’s a guy who takes care of his body. One of the best I’ve seen in the league [in that department].”

Happy Returns

14 years after the San Jose Sharks drafted him in the sixth round of the 2007 Draft, Bonino is finally back in teal. GM Doug Wilson traded then-prospect Bonino, Timo Pielmeier, and a 2012 fourth-round pick to the Ducks for Kent Huskins and Travis Moen in 2009.

Bonino quipped today: “I didn’t have to go buy a hat or a jersey. We just grabbed my Draft jersey out of the bin in the basement. Had my kids wearing it around.”

That’s not Bonino’s only significant connection with the San Jose Sharks though.

“My agent knows Tim Burke pretty well,” Bonino noted. Bonino is represented by Massachusetts-based Peter Fish; Burke is San Jose’s assistant general manager.

Burke is usually associated more with the Sharks’ amateur drafts, but it sounds like he can be credited with at least a secondary assist here.

More Happy Returns

A career center, Bonino alternated between center and wing last season. He’s happy to be back at his natural position.

“From all our conversations, they see me and what I see myself as, a really solid third-line center,” Bonino said. “Can play hard minutes, can provide offense, can take faceoffs, can have a lot of D-zone starts and try to get out of our zone. Play against anyone. That’s been my game, my entire career.”

So what happened in Minnesota last year? NHL scouts suggested to San Jose Hockey Now that Bonino has slowed down, but the 33-year-old is glad to be between two wings again.

“I don’t know really what happened in Minnesota, just didn’t seem like a good fit,” Bonino acknowledged. “I love the guys. It was a great group of guys. Great team. But yeah, just not in their plans at center. I’m looking forward to getting back in the middle.”

Reimer Returns

The last time that San Jose Sharks fans saw goalie James Reimer, he was backing up Martin Jones in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

Reimer is now, for all intents and purposes, replacing Jones, who was bought out yesterday by the Sharks.

“What they’re looking for and what I’m hoping to bring is just a consistent, steady production,” Reimer offered. “Just the way I play the game, the way I come to the rink everyday. It’s not going to be too much of a roller coaster, ups and downs. Just a steady calm.”

Five years ago, Reimer steadied San Jose’s goaltending tandem post-Trade Deadline, going 6-2-0 with a .938 Save %. Can the 33-year-old netminder save the Sharks again, this time paired with Adin Hill?

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