Sonny Milano is reportedly set to begin the next chapter of his career overseas.
According to reporter Klaus Zaugg from the Swiss outlet Watson, the 29-year-old winger is expected to sign with SC Bern of Switzerland’s National League for next season. Milano, currently with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
“After defenseman Ian Mitchell, SC Bern has signed Sonny Milano, their second new import player with potential,” Zaugg writes, as translated via Google Translate. “If Sonny Milano is 100 percent fit, he will be one of SC Bern’s best foreign players since their promotion (1986).”
Milano spent most of the 2025-26 regular season with the Washington Capitals until the team got fully healthy in February. He was subsequently waived and sent down to the Bears after passing waivers. An oft-healthy scratch, Milano played in 31 NHL games this season for the Caps, recording eight points (4g, 4a). He came into this past fall’s training camp without being assured a roster spot, having played in just three games last year due to injury.
The former first-round pick originally signed a one-year contract at the league minimum salary ($750k) with the Capitals in 2022. After posting 33 points (11g, 22a) in 64 games that season, Milano earned himself a three-year, $5.7 million extension, which has had him at a $1.9 million cap hit the past three seasons.
Milano has spent his entire professional career in North America, playing 344 NHL games with the Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets. With SC Bern, he’d join a few familiar faces, including former Blue Jackets teammate Emil Bemstrom and former Capitals teammates Hardy Häman Aktell and Michael Sgarbossa.
Milano and the Bears qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs, with their first round matchup against the Bridgeport Islanders set to begin on Tuesday night. Milano has missed Hershey’s last four games with an upper-body injury, and his status is unknown for Game 1 of the club’s best-of-three series.
