The 28-year-old forward wasn’t under contract until the end of October. He’s now averaging half a point per game. More on the cost-efficient Heinen’s impact as of late:
BOSTON -- For weeks leading up to the 2023-24 season, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Boston Bruins was: Who was going to fill out the top six following the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci?
Of all the candidates, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone predicting at the time that Danton Heinen would fill a spot, and yet a quarter-way through the season, that’s exactly where he is.
Given how often Bruins coach Jim Montgomery shuffles the lines, he likely won’t stay there permanently, but with eight points in 16 games – including seven in the past 10 – the 28-year-old forward is more than proving his worth, no matter where he slots in the lineup.
“I’m getting comfortable with the way we play, and just trying to keep on building,” Heinen said after Boston’s 3-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. “Just trying to get more comfortable and get more confident every game. [I’m] playing with good players, so that makes it easy, but just keep on pressing.”
Heinen rejoined the team that drafted him in 2014 on Sept. 5, practicing under a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO) for nearly two months until he signed a one-year, $775,000 contract on Oct. 30. Since then, he’s been a staple in the lineup, and has looked like a free agency steal.
According to CapFriendly, his cost per point – which unofficially measures a player’s production relative to the value of his contract – of $96,875 ranks inside the top 20 lowest in the entire league, among standard/non-entry level contracts. Only James van Riemsdyk ($62,500) has a lower cost per point on the Bruins so far this season.
In other words, both have been bargains. Except van Riemsdyk was signed on the first day of free agency, while Heinen went the entire summer without a team until Boston decided to take a PTO flier on him.
To say that flier paid off is an understatement. Heinen’s latest contribution was an assist on Brad Marchand’s first goal of his natural hat trick in Sunday’s win.
Charlie Coyle dished the puck to Heinen, who was striding down the left boards and towards the corner before sending a perfect cross-ice pass to Brad Marchand. The Bruins captain unloaded a one-timer, and tied the game 1-1 just 1:56 into the third period.
“[Heinen]’s been playing well. And he sets up- the whole first goal was all him,” Montgomery said. “That’s great vision, takes the puck down the wall and puts it right on the tape, you know, 75 feet away. That’s a great play made, and he’s doing really good things defensively, too.”
At 5-on-5, Heinen has been on the ice for nine Bruins goals compared to just four from opponents. Coyle, who has been his line mate for the past couple games, called Heinen a “Swiss Army Knife” because of how much he brings to the team in different situations.
“He’s very smart,” Coyle told The Hockey News on Friday. “I think he’s been so great for us. It’s great to see him rewarded every now and then, but even when he’s not, he’s playing just the right way.”
Said Heinen, “I think the hardest thing is try not to change too much. Playing with those guys [Marchand and Coyle], two smart players, two skilled guys. So [I] try just to complement them any way I can.”
Whether or not he sticks with Coyle and Marchand for the foreseeable future, Heinen has shown his worth to this Bruins team over the past three weeks, and it’s certainly more than the $775,000 he’s being paid.