Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup champion and fan-favorite reunites with team in Sweden
Photo credit: HU edit
Former Penguins Stanley Cup winner and fan-favorite, Carl Hagelin, reunited with his team while they were in Sweden for the Global Series, as he lives there now.
Anyone who watched the Pittsburgh Penguins during their famous 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup runs remembers the "HBK Line." And on Thursday in Stockholm, two-thirds of that iconic trio reunited.
During the Penguins' practice ahead of this weekend's NHL Global Series at Avicii Arena vs. the Nashville Predators, assistant coach Nick Bonino crossed paths with former teammate Carl Hagelin, who now lives near Stockholm, in Sweden.
What made Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin fan-favorites
The two were essential pieces of Pittsburgh's HBK Line in 2016, a unit that included Hagelin, Bonino, as well as Phil Kessel. That trio produced a dominant 15 goals and 46 points during the iconic postseason run.
Bonino, age 37, enjoyed a 15-year NHL career, recording 159 goals and 358 points in 868 total games.
Why there was so much hype around the HBK line
He spent two memorable seasons in Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2017, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, before a brief second stint in 2023 was cut short by an unfortunate injury.
Across his time with the Penguins, he totaled 27 goals and 66 points in 146 regular-season games. He also had eight goals and 25 points in 45 playoff appearances. Now, he's back behind the bench as the team's assistant coach.
Hagelin, also 37 years young, played 12 NHL seasons and finished with 110 goals and 296 points over 713 total games.
He spent parts of four seasons in Pittsburgh, scoring 27 goals and 83 points before being traded away to the Los Angeles Kings during the 2018-19 season.
His career later ended in Washington, where an eye injury forced him to retire earlier than he had hoped to.
Their reunion in Sweden today served as a brief but meaningful reminder of one of the Penguins' most electric and iconic lines, and of how their contributions still resonate years after those championship runs with the entire fanbase.
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