The Boston Bruins have signed Danton Heinen to a one-year contract with a league-minimum $775K cap hit.
The status of Heinen was the final decision that Boston needed to make during their training camp, with the forward signed to a professional try-out and working with the team for as long as he could. The Bruins surprisingly left Heinen unsigned, but are now circling back after starting the season with a scorching 7-0-1 record.
Heinen played the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, netting 22 points in 65 games last year and 33 points in 76 games in 2021-22. It was two modest seasons, with Heinen struggling to reach the career-high 47-point mark he set in 2017-18. Despite low scoring output, Heinen did record strong underlying statistics in Pittsburgh, tallying a 72.69 xGF% and 52.80 CF% over his two years with the club. Now 28 years old, Heinen has found a comfortable role in the NHL as a depth forward; a role he’s sure to find in Boston as well.
The Bruins recently recalled Oskar Steen to the NHL, suiting him up in their most recent match against the Detroit Red Wings. Steen went without a point in the four-goal outing, although he did record a +1, two shots, and two hits. With Milan Lucic now on injured reserve, Boston is only carrying one extra forward, Jakub Lauko, who is battling an injury of his own. Heinen’s signing gives Boston another forward option to work with. And while he doesn’t have a precedent of high-scoring, Heinen could also bring a needed spark to a Bruins fourth-line that’s only combined for one goal – John Beecher’s first NHL goal – through eight games this season.
He’s a third liner on the current Bruins and an improvement on the bottom six.