The Bruins announced late last night (July 9th) that they have resigned RFA forward Danton Heinen to a two-year contract extension worth $5.6 million ($2.8 million AAV). Heinen played in 77 games for the Bruins last season, in which he produced 11 goals and 23 assists. He then appeared in 24 playoff games for the team as they went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final (still hurts to think about), in which he recorded two goals and six assists. Drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, Heinen has appeared in 162 career NHL games and has tallied 27 goals and 54 assists in them. He has also appeared in 33 career playoff games, in which he has put up three goals and six assists. The 24-year-old wing has only played for the Bruins over his three-year professional career.
I was just about to go to bed when my phone miraculously reconnected to WiFi and the notification came through that this had happened. It was well worth choking on and snorting a bit of my water up my nose. This is a great contract! I was hoping to get him for less (I said $2 million in my RFA post), but it wasn’t realistic given his production over his career and the current state of the free agent market. He gets a lot of hate (and I will admit he frustrates me at times) because he’s a streaky player and seems to mess up perfectly set-up plays, but he has phenomenal possession numbers, is a really good defensive forward, and puts up more points than he gets credit for at times. I wish he was more consistent, but I think that will come for him with a little more time. He’s young (he just turned 24 a few days ago), and he’s still developing. It should also be considered that he spent most of his time playing on what was a black hole of a third line until the trade deadline, so his production probably would’ve been better if he was with better teammates. I’m really happy with this deal overall, especially since he would’ve made over $3 million had he gone to arbitration given the things they consider in those hearings. The term is perfect as it’s just two years, so he has the chance to prove himself a little more and the Bruins can get a better idea of if and how he fits into their long-term plans (I think he will). Overall, Heinen is already a solid two-way player who needs to be more consistent, but he will most likely do so and continue to improve as he’s still young and will continue to develop, and this is a great contract for him.
This contract will look even better if and when Heinen is more consistent and puts up at least close to 50 points this season like he did in 2016-17. When you think about, despite how frustrating he can be at times, it is a really good deal. Even if he puts up what he did last season, given the type of player he is and his role, this will still be a good deal for the Bruins. However, they now have just $7.3 million to resign Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, which is not even close to being enough. It’s not even enough for McAvoy if he gets want he wants. The Bruins need to make at least one trade and soon, and I think it’s safe to say that one or more of Miller, Moore, and Backes will be gone in the next few days or weeks. But, that’s another post for another time. Resigning McAvoy and Carlo is an absolute must and while they are more important players than Heinen, the Bruins were very smart to make Heinen a priority after he filed for arbitration. It would have cost them even more had they made it to the hearing, and I’m very happy they didn’t and that they got him for a reasonable cap hit. You won’t hear any complaints from me about this contract (unless things go horribly wrong for him this season, which is really unlikely).
Hockey Addict 