"But we're gonna lose him here for a couple of weeks, so we've got to make sure we take care of business in the hope that we get him back in a timely fashion, and he can continue to bring to this team what we hoped," Sullivan said.
The Penguins had acquired the two-time Stanley Cup Champion with Pittsburgh from San Jose at the trade deadline for so many reasons - including what Bonino brings off the ice.
"He's a great voice in the locker room, and he'll continue to be that for us," Sullivan said.
On the ice, Bonino had slotted in as fourth-line center in his three games with the Penguins since joining them last week. In terms of who can fill in there, Sullivan listed Mikael Granlund, another one of Pittsburgh's trade deadline acquisitions; Jeff Carter; and Drew O'Connor. And when Ryan Poehling is back healthy, he'll be in that mix as well.
"We're going to put line combinations together that we think give us the balance we need, that give us a chance to win," Sullivan said.
As for who will join the forward group to fill the vacant spot, the Penguins recalled Alex Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. The 25-year-old looked good in his Pittsburgh debut on Tuesday against Columbus, picking up an assist and impressing the coaching staff with his play on both sides of the puck.
"Obviously, that's been a big focus for me this year. Just know what I can do offensively, but D zone, just try to really focus on those areas," Nylander said. "Getting those important pucks out and being cognizant of where our D is and all that kind of stuff. I think that's all been really smooth this year, and it's been going really well. So I'm just happy the way it's been going this year."
