[3][4] Bondra was a Soviet citizen when he arrived in the United States, later obtaining a Slovak passport and citizenship in 1993 before the start of the 1994 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament.

After living in Crofton, Maryland,[5] Bondra resides in Riva with his wife Luba, their daughter Petra, and their sons David and Nick.

[citation needed] Bondra played one season for HK Poprad in the lower ranks of Czechoslovak league competition, and transferred to VSŽ Košice in the First Division at the age of 18.

Due to the language barrier, he became good friends with Ukrainian-born Capitals player Dmitri Khristich, with whom he conversed in both Russian and Ukrainian.

[8] His deepest playoff run came in 1997–98, when the Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

In the 2003–04 season, Bondra's 14th with Washington, the Capitals endured a disappointing year and in a salary purge move traded veteran members of the team to contenders.

In 2004, the Capitals held a vote for fans to determine the top 30 players in franchise history to celebrate their 30th season in the league.

On 22 December 2006, he scored his 500th NHL career goal at the United Center, in Chicago's 3–1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[2] Since retirement, Bondra has represented Colosseo USA, a Slovak company that makes custom video scoreboards.