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Danton Heinen

Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen To PTO

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In a press release from the team, the Boston Bruins have announced they have signed forward Danton Heinen to a professional tryout during training camp. In his career, Heinen has previously played over 200 games for the Bruins, being drafted in the fourth round by the team back in the 2014 NHL Draft.

After spending his NCAA career at the University of Denver, Heinen spent two years with the Providence Bruins before making the full-time jump to the NHL. Getting off to an incredible start in his first full season with the Bruins in 2017-18, Heinen would score 16 goals and 31 assists in 77 games, becoming one of the better secondary scorers in the lineup.

Unfortunately for both he and the team, Heinen would fail to reach those scoring heights again, and the team finally dealt him to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie back in the 2019-20 season. Needless to say, his time in Anaheim became a complete failure, only scoring 10 goals and eight assists in 52 total games with the club.

After his time with the Ducks came to a close, Heinen would sign back-to-back one-year deals with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he did see his play mildly improve. In his first season with Pittsburgh, Heinen earned the best goal-scoring output of his career up to this point, scoring 18 goals and 15 assists in 76 games. Last year, seeing his average ice time cut by almost two minutes, he would only put up eight goals and 14 assists in 65 games played.

Even though the team did capture the President’s Trophy last season after the greatest regular season in league history, after the offseason they had this year, the Bruins could certainly stand to gain some more forward depth. There will be no expectation that Heinen will become the secondary scorer he used to be in Boston, but he should be able to add an offensive boost to the team’s bottom-six in the upcoming season.

Free Agent Profile: Danton Heinen

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This is the time of the summer when NHL signings are few and far between. Many teams have made their moves and are now tweaking around the edges, while other teams are looking to figure out how to become cap compliant in October. For the unrestricted free agents who remain unsigned, it must be a stressful time of year, it’s almost like a game of musical chairs, everyone has their seat, and only a select few are left standing.

For winger Danton Heinen he is familiar with this waiting game, he wasn’t signed last summer until late July when he inked a one-year $1MM deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the time, Heinen was coming off a career-high 18 goals and a very respectable 33 points. It seemed like an absolute steal at that price point, but then Heinen failed to match that production this past season. Coming off a very disappointing season it’s hard to see Heinen topping his salary from this past season, and it appears he might have to wait even deeper into the summer to find an NHL deal.

Heinen entered this past season with an opportunity to capture a spot in the Penguins lineup next to Evgeni Malkin. At the beginning of the season, the Penguins weren’t sure how Jason Zucker would fit into the lineup and Heinen was brought in as a depth piece who could fill in admirably in the top six, and that is what he did to start the season. Heinen began the year with six points in his first five games including a two-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in October as he filled in for an injured Jake Guentzel alongside Sidney Crosby. However, over the course of his next 34 games, Heinen would put up just five assists and didn’t score another goal until late January, a period of over three months between goals. Heinen finished the season with eight goals and 14 assists in 65 games and ended up in Mike Sullivan’s doghouse many times throughout the year.

While Heinen’s offensive numbers took a nosedive last season from the year previous, they fell close to his career average as he has typically been a 10-15 goal scorer and a player who can contribute 25-30 points. Outside of a single 47-point season, Heinen has never topped 34 points in any other NHL season. His lack of offensive ability wasn’t an issue earlier in his career as his shortcomings could be glossed over because he offered a lot more defensive prowess and the ability to disrupt plays in the defensive zone. He could also get to the front of the net, but that seemed to disappear last season as he appeared to lack the confidence to get to the dirty areas of the ice to distract defenders away from some of the Penguins more gifted offensive players. Overall, it was a tough season for Heinen and the Penguins as he seemed to struggle more and more as the season went on, as did the entire Penguins lineup.

Despite the disappointment of being a healthy scratch many times this past season, Heinen is still very much an NHL player. The flat salary cap has put him and many others in the precarious position of being left without a job deep into the offseason despite having a small track record of NHL success. Heinen has 70 goals and 106 assists in 413 career NHL games, and while those offensive numbers aren’t eye-popping, he does offer several intangibles that could be attractive to many teams. He is a decent skater and doesn’t mind taking a hit to make a play, however, he does get pushed around a lot and could probably stand to put on a bit of muscle to help him when he does get into the dirty areas of the ice.

Stats

2022-23: 65 GP, 8-14-22, -5 rating, 12 PIMS, 96 shots, 40.0% faceoffs, 51.3% CF, 10:45 ATOI
Career: 413 GP, 70-106-176, +10 rating, 72 PIMS, 675 shots, 31.3% faceoffs, 51.9% CF, 13:35 ATOI

Potential Suitors

After spending seven years in the league, it is unlikely that Heinen would want to be part of a rebuilding team, however, given his precarious position in the league he doesn’t have the luxury of being picky. Heinen has dressed for three different franchises at this point and may never see the security of a long-term deal with any one team. That doesn’t mean he won’t have suitors as teams are always looking for solid depth options late in the summer and around training camp when injuries begin to pop up.

In the East, one team that could use some good forward depth is the Ottawa Senators. They’ve had success before taking on reclamation projects and Heinen could certainly be categorized as that. Heinen doesn’t need to be fully rebuilt but he does need to be put in a spot where he can play with good players in the bottom six and get the opportunity to jump up into the top six from time to time. Ottawa could offer exactly that as Heinen would be a good fit on their third line next to your center Shane Pinto. The Senators could also use a good depth forward who could jump up and replace Dominik Kubalik should he struggle with his new team. The Senators will also be dressing a few young forwards in their bottom six and could use a solid veteran to help guide the youngsters and show them what it takes to be a pro.

Sticking with the East, Heinen could also be a good fit with one of the Penguins closest rivals the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets don’t have much in the way of offensive firepower in their bottom six forward group and Heinen would actually represent an upgrade on several of their current options. Thus far the Blue Jackets have prioritized acquiring defensemen this offseason, however, Heinen could represent a cheap upgrade who wouldn’t require much term or cap space.

Out West, a couple of teams could make sense of potential destinations for Heinen. A native of Langley, British Columbia, a trip home to Vancouver would make for a nice story and a fit for both player and team. The Vancouver Canucks currently have Teddy Bleuger pencilled in as their third-line center; a player Heinen knows well having played on a line with him in both of the past two seasons. Heinen would be a more than capable replacement for Phil Di Giuseppe and could also add a bit of depth on the wing for the Canucks, something they are certainly lacking.

Staying in the West, the Winnipeg Jets lost a few forwards this offseason and seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern. Much has been made of the trade targets on the Jets, but it appears that they do want to make another run at the playoffs next season with much of the same core. If Heinen were to sign with the Jets, it would most likely be as a 13th forward and the opportunity to push fourth-line winger Morgan Barron. The 24-year-old Barron had similar numbers to Heinen last year but battled injuries early in the year. The Jets have a few terrific young forwards and adding a solid veteran like Heinen could help provide some mentorship to the youth in the Jets forward ranks.

Projected Contract

Heinen wasn’t mentioned as one of our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents before free agency began. He fell well outside that list as this past season in Pittsburgh really damaged his free-agent stock. While Heinen has his shortcomings, he is still just 28 and has had recent success when sheltered in the right situation. He can contribute on a third or fourth line and chip in a bit of offence as well. At this point Heinen would do well to top his deal from last July, he is likely to still get a one-year deal, but it will probably fall around the $1MM guarantee he received from Pittsburgh last summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

Penguins Milestones: Guentzel, Heinen

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Very early into the Pittsburgh Penguins game against the Montreal Canadiens, Jake Guentzel scored 21 seconds into the game, which is the 400th point of his career. Guentzel now has 189 goals, and 211 assists through 437 career games, all spent in Pittsburgh. Originally a third-round pick of the Penguins back in 2018, Guentzel quickly became one of the top forwards on the team. Scoring 33 points in 40 games in his rookie 2016-17 season, Guentzel helped the Penguins secure their second Stanley Cup in as many years.

Another player on the Penguins marking a big milestone tonight is forward Danton Heinen, who has now played in 400 games in the NHL. Originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL by the Boston Bruins, Heinen has become a decent depth scorer in the league. His best year came during the 2017-18 season, scoring 47 points in 77 games for Boston. A couple of years later, as his production declined, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Nick Ritchie. As his time in Anaheim came to an end, he finally made his way to Pittsburgh, scoring 24 goals and 27 assists in 128 career games for the Penguins.

Central Notes: Plante, Jets, Maxwell

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Derek Plante’s time away from the Blackhawks is going to be relatively short as Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune reports that Plante is expected to rejoin Chicago as an assistant coach on Luke Richardson’s staff with an official announcement expected next week.  Plante has spent the last two seasons as the Associate Coach with Minnesota-Duluth of the NCAA but before that, he spent five years as a Player Development Coach with the Blackhawks.  He’ll join former interim head coach Derek King and Kevin Dean as Richardson’s assistants.  Plante briefly spent time as a player with Chicago back in 2000 when he was acquired (with Dean) in a trade near the trade deadline.

More from the Central:

  • When Danton Heinen opted to re-sign with Pittsburgh on a one-year, $1MM deal, it seemed a little on the light side relative to his production. He was, after all, coming off an 18-goal, 33-point season.  However, it wasn’t the biggest offer he had as Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe relays (Twitter link) that several teams, including the Jets, tendered higher offers.  Heinen would have made some sense for Winnipeg – they have some cap flexibility this summer that they haven’t had in recent years which gives them the flexibility to upgrade their depth.  Fortunately for them, there are several similar wingers still on the market and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them pivot to one of those before long.
  • The Blues are set to add to their scouting department as Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that St. Louis is expected to hire Kevin Maxwell. Maxwell had spent the last decade as the head professional scout for the Rangers while also spending time with the Islanders, Stars, Flyers, and Whalers.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Danton Heinen

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After choosing not to issue him a qualifying offer, the Pittsburgh Penguins have brought back forward Danton Heinen on a one-year, one-way deal worth $1MM.

Heinen takes a steep discount to stay in Pittsburgh, actually taking $100K less than his previous contract. It’s tough to believe that he wouldn’t have received many other offers after the 27-year-old had a strong 2021-22 campaign.

His career-high 18 goals ranked seventh on the team last season, adding 15 assists for 33 points in total in 76 games. While he averaged under 13 minutes a game, he posted stellar all-around offensive and defensive results.

It’s a solid bet that Heinen’s value on the ice will eclipse that of his cap hit next season, adding to Pittsburgh’s summer of value signings (at least in the short term). He’ll compete with other depth wingers such as Jason Zucker, Brock McGinn, and Kasperi Kapanen for ice time in the Penguins’ top nine.

Penguins Notes: Malkin, COVID, Recalls

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The day has come for Evgeni Malkin, who will make his season debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The star center has been out all season rehabbing his knee after offseason surgery but now returns to a Pittsburgh lineup that won ten straight before falling to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

With 48 games left in the regular season, Malkin will have a chance to climb a little further up the all-time points list. He currently sits 63rd with 1,104, just behind Patrick Kane’s 1,119. Both those names could jump over several impressive names, including former teammate Marian Hossa who is 57th with 1,134. Given Malkin recently said that he wants to play several more seasons, there’s no telling how high he’ll climb before eventually hanging up his skates.

  • Unfortunately, Malkin’s return won’t be the only story of the day for the Penguins. Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID protocol. They are out for tonight’s game. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Heinen is experiencing symptoms, but Aston-Reese is not. The latter could test out of the protocol after five days, while Heinen will need his symptoms to resolve (and provide a negative test after a minimum of five days) before rejoining his teammates.
  • The interesting part for the Penguins is how they’ll make the financials fit, as they actually don’t have the cap space to activate Malkin from long-term injured reserve without sending someone else down. With Heinen, Aston-Reese, and Casey DeSmith all on the COVID protocol, they’ll first have to get cap compliant before using emergency recalls to fill out a lineup.
  • Moving Jason Zucker to LTIR could solve the issue for now but he too is close to a return. Zucker skated with the club today in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan explained that his status hasn’t changed and is not ready to return just yet. Given Zucker hasn’t played since December 19, his stint on LTIR could be backdated to allow the Penguins to activate him whenever ready.

Pittsburgh Penguins Content With Tristan Jarry As Starter

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Heading into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed destined to bring in a new goaltender. GM Ron Hextall more than hinted at his desire to add an established veteran to the mix alongside young Tristan Jarry, whose play suffered this past season. Yet, the status quo remains in the Pittsburgh net with Jarry and injury-prone backup Casey DeSmith. 

The root of this unexpected lack of change at the goalie position lies in the salary cap. Even with the departures of Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev, the Penguins are still right up against the upper limit. To this point, high-priced trade chips Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson, and Mike Matheson have yet to move, which leaves the team with little wiggle room in the free agent market. With what small space they had, the team opted to replace Tanev and McCann with Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen rather than address the goaltender position.

If and when the team is able to clear some space, perhaps adding a goalie will return to the forefront of their off-season objectives. The free agent market has largely been left bare, but the team could target a trade option such as Dallas’ Ben Bishop or Anton Khudobin, while Joonas Korpisalo, Alexandar Georgiev, and Malcolm Subban are other options believed to be available.

However, the team appears to no longer feel that they absolutely must add a goaltender before next season. Speaking with NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, Hextall stated that he believes Jarry is “going to bounce back” to starter quality for the Penguins this season. The 26-year-old did post a .921 save percentage and 2.43 GAA just a year ago, but those numbers fell to .909 and 2.75 this season. Most jarring was Jarry’s poor performance in the playoffs, in which he looked totally outmatched. Yet, Hextall – a former goalie himself – is confident that Jarry can return to form even without competition from a veteran addition. It seems he trusts DeSmith, who should be recovered from off-season surgery in time for the new campaign, as the backup again as well. This newfound confidence could be a product of the lacking talent available elsewhere or perhaps even some optimism for highly-regarded college free agent addition Filip Lindberg. Whatever the reason, the front office has changed their tune and Penguins fans have to hope that it all works out for the team as their championship window begins to close.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Danton Heinen

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Among the players who didn’t receive a qualifying offer this year, Danton Heinen raised a few eyebrows. Once an up-and-coming scoring threat with the Boston Bruins, his game has fallen off in recent years. The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to correct that path, signing Heinen to a one-year, $1.1MM contract today.

Now 26, this may be Heinen’s last chance to prove he can handle a scoring role in the NHL. The fourth-round pick scored 16 goals and 47 points as a rookie in Boston and looked like he was going to be the answer to the second-line scoring issues. He was even given a chance beside Patrice Bergeron for a time the next season, but failed to reach the same level of production.

Since then, it has been a steady downward slope in his career. At the trade deadline in 2019-20 he was flipped to the Anaheim Ducks for Nick Ritchie (who also happened to go unqualified this summer) where he has struggled. In 43 games during the 2020-21 season, he recorded just seven goals and 14 points despite seeing the most time beside Jakob Silfverberg and Adam Henrique.

There’s talent there that’s easy to see, but Heinen has to find a way to become more consistent in the offensive zone. In Pittsburgh, there’s a real chance that at some point he’ll be given an opportunity beside either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. He can’t afford to waste it this time, or that explosive rookie season will be quickly forgotten.

For the Penguins, moves like this are nothing new. Crosby has been asked to boost inexpensive linemates for years, and reclamation projects have become regular occurrences. In this case it doesn’t pose much risk with a contract that could be almost entirely buried in the minor leagues if necessary, but Heinen doesn’t offer much in a bottom-six role except penalty-kill ability.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/25/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list for today so far:

Anaheim – Alexander Volkov*
Boston – Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi
NY Rangers – Brett Howden (plus part of the coaching staff)
Ottawa – TBA
Vancouver – Travis Boyd

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Danton Heinen, Anaheim Ducks; Ben Hutton, Anaheim Ducks; Jacob Larsson, Anaheim Ducks; Anthony Stolarz, Anaheim Ducks; Phil Di Giuseppe, New York Rangers

All four players that were added recently for the Ducks have found their way off, though Volkov has been added as he moves from one team to another. After being acquired late last night, the young forward will need to face a short quarantine period before he can join Anaheim.

For the Rangers, Di Giuseppe has exited the protocol along with assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Greg Brown. They have joined the team in Philadelphia and can take over their regular duties once again.

Unfortunately, they aren’t the only coaches facing an issue like this. The Buffalo Sabres have announced that interim head coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis are self-isolating and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Penguins. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams will be being the bench as head coach instead.

*denotes new addition

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