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Danton Heinen

Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen

at CDT | by 9 Comments

Late last night, the Boston Bruins came to terms with one of their restricted free agents, signing Danton Heinen to a two-year contract through the 2020-21 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $2.8MM and will keep Heinen an RFA at its expiration.

The Bruins have several other restricted free agents to sign including Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, but Heinen was the only one who was eligible and had filed for salary arbitration. This deal avoids that sometimes messy situation and gives the 24-year old forward a nice bridge contract. In parts of three seasons Heinen has recorded 81 points in 162 games, a pace that actually declined last season when he was able to register just 11 goals and 34 points. In the playoffs the young forward has all but disappeared, scoring just nine points in 33 games.

Still, there is a lot to like in his offensive profile and to get any production out of a fourth-round pick is a win for the Bruins. Though originally selected as a potential center, Heinen has played almost exclusively on the wing in the NHL and projects to stay there for the time being. The former University of Denver standout can be extremely elusive at times in the offensive zone and surprise defenders with his puck skills, but too rarely uses these talents to create and can rely on his linemates. If he can find a little more consistency while playing on this new contract, Heinen can set himself up for a big payday in 2021 when he has just a single year of restricted free agency left.

For the Bruins, even though they knew it was coming this deal does complicate things somewhat. The team now has just $7.4MM in cap space and two huge negotiations with McAvoy and Carlo to come. Since that cap number is assuming a 23-man roster there is some more wiggle room from the players that will be sent down to make room for the pair of young defensemen, but even so the Bruins will be extremely tight to the cap after inking the new deals. That is of course unless they find a way to move David Backes’ $6MM hit, though the market for such a contract is obviously not a huge one.

Eastern Notes: Belmont Project, Krug, Botterill

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Despite numerous recent delays in the groundbreaking of construction of the New York Islanders future 19,000-seat arena in the Belmont Park area, the Islanders got some good news today. Empire State Development hopes to approve the final environmental impact statement next week, according to David Winzelberg of the Long Island Business News.

The project has been held up due to the environmental report, but Empire State Development has scheduled a meeting of its board of directors and seek “authorization to accept and approve” it. The approval of the final environmental impact statement should be the final step to beginning the construction of the $1.18 billion plan to build the Islanders new arena, a 250-room hotel and a 435,000 square-foot retail village onto the Belmont property.

On a separate note, however, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was also scheduled to be on Long Island Monday to announce a new railroad station at the Belmont project, but has postponed that appearance.

  • The Boston Herald’s Marisa Ingemi wonders if this might be the right time for the Boston Bruins to seriously consider moving defenseman Torey Krug. With a number of restricted free agents they must deal with, including an incredibly pricey one for Charlie McAvoy as well as contracts for Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen, the team might want to free up some money. Throw in some of their holes on offense and their depth on defense, moving Krug might make some sense. The 28-year-old is on the final year of his contract and will likely get a significant raise from his $5.25MM current salary. Will Boston want to commit to a 29-year-old long-term?
  • The Athletic’s Joe Yerdon (subscription required) writes that while the hiring of Jason Botterill two years ago hasn’t resulted in immediate success for the Buffalo Sabres, the same can’t be said for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Since Botterill and Randy Sexton took over in May of 2017, the two have put quite a bit of effort into rebuilding their AHL affiliate, which has now made the playoffs two years in a row after missing the playoffs for three straight years before that. That has been evident once again this week when the team added a number of top AHL talent, including forwards Jean-Sebastian Dea, Curtis Lazar and C.J. Smith, defenseman John Gilmour and goaltender Andrew Hammond. The belief is that Botterill believes that AHL success should only add that needed depth that can eventually help the NHL squad as well.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres 2020 Offseason, Heinen, Chiarot

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While the Florida Panthers received all the attention before free agency opened on July 1 due to their excessive amount of cap space and they fact that they were attracting several of the top free agents on the market, next year’s offseason will look quite a bit different. In fact, it could be the Buffalo Sabres that could be poised to take a similar role next year before free agency opens and could find themselves the team that could lock up some of the top free agents for the 2020-21 season.

The Athletic’s John Vogl (subscription required) writes that while a lot can change in a year, Buffalo has only nine key players under contract for the 2020-21 season along with six restricted free agents. The team is expected to be free of a number of contracts, including Zach Bogosian ($5.14MM), Marco Scandella ($4MM), Vladimir Sobotka ($3.5MM), Conor Sheary ($3MM), Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM), Matt Hunwick ($2.25MM), Scott Wilson ($1.05MM) and Casey Nelson ($812K). Assuming the salary cap rises by approximately $2MM, the Sabres should have about $29.5MM of projected salary cap, and assuming general manager Jason Botterill can properly persuade them, could add a couple of top free agents.

Who could be available, assuming that some of them don’t re-sign with their teams in the next season? Taylor Hall, Nicklas Backstrom, Brayden Schenn, Chris Kreider, Mike Hoffman, Alex Galchenyuk, Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie, Roman Josi, and Braden Holtby.

  • While it’s been assumed for some time that Marcus Johansson would not return to Boston, (he signed with Buffalo earlier today), The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) looked at who might replace the veteran forward this season as the third-line left wing. The problem for Boston is that the team is loaded with a number of right-shot options in Zachary Senyshyn, Karson Kuhlman or Brett Ritchie. However, general manager Don Sweeney suggested it might be best to take the third-line right wing, Danton Heinen, and move him to the left side as he possesses more versatility than the others, which could allow one of the others to move in on the right side. “I think Heinen, depending on what side you play him on,” said Sweeney when asked who could replace Johansson. “Whether it’s Karson or Senyshyn or Brett Ritchie, guys that are right shots, we could play lefty-righty and move Danton over. I think he fits into the same mold of player creative-wise.”
  • The Athletic’s Marc Dumont (subscription required) analyzes the video of the Montreal Canadiens newly signed blueliner Ben Chiarot and looks at where he might fit in their lineup. Chiarot, who told reporters that he has discussed with the coaching staff about playing on the second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. However, Dumont suggests that would be a mistake as Chiarot struggles with retrieving pucks in a timely manner, which would not work well with Petry and suggests that Brett Kulak should continue in that role like he did last season. It might be best to play him on the Canadiens’ third pairing, but that seems a waste considering his $3.5MM price tag.

 

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