The Boston Bruins have decisions to make on their expiring contracts before free agency opens on July 1. Based on factors such as roster needs and players' talent, we are ranking the 10 most important free agents and predicting their future in Boston.
With just under one month remaining until free agency opens, we will be going over the top 10 free agents for the Boston Bruins.
These are all “in-house” options that they will have to decide between keeping or letting go. This is not covering potential free agent targets on other teams.
Additionally, the ranking has less to do with the talent or production of the player, but rather the importance of the decision. Obviously each player’s ability factors into that determination, but based on the make-up of the roster and the team’s most-pressing needs, a ‘better’ player may not be as big a priority as a player in another position.
You can find the rest of the list so far below:
Today we look at No. 3:
3. Danton Heinen, Forward
Age: 29*
2023-24 stats: 74 GP, 17G-19A-36P
Previous contract: 1 year, $775k
Total Years with Bruins: 5^
*= will be 29 by the start of 2024-25
^= Spent parts of four seasons in Boston to start career, second stint was just this season
Who would have thought Danton Heinen would be here? After going unsigned last summer, Heinen rejoined the team that drafted him on a Professional Tryout Agreement, spending the early part of the season getting paid a per diem without any guarantee he would still have a spot the next day. But he persevered, earned himself a one-year, $775,000 contract at the end of October, and soon asserted himself as an every-day player who could step in all over the lineup.
For a Bruins team tight against the salary cap ceiling, Heinen was a much-needed bargain signing. He had the fifth-lowest cost per point among standard, non-entry-level contracts in the NHL this season, so he was quite literally a “better bang for your buck” type of player.
In addition to his cost-effective production, Heinen has a good relationship with Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who also coached him at the University of Denver for two seasons from 2014-2016. Montgomery has lauded Heinen’s versatility, and he’s expressed his affinity for players that can slot in on either side of the ice and seamlessly move up and down the lineup when needed.
Prediction: He re-signs
Between Heinen’s performance this season and the Bruins’ situation at wing, it would make a lot of sense for both sides to come to an agreement for a new contract. Heinen’s best years were with Boston to start his career, and after short stints with the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins each ended with disappointment, he had a real “get right” season back where he started.
He won’t be as cheap as he was this year, but with Jake DeBrusk’s and James van Riemsdyk’s futures up in the air, there could be an opening to keep Heinen in the mix and build off what he did this past season.
Ultimately, it will come down to how the Bruins want to approach adding to their top six this offseason, and the rest will trickle down from there, but Heinen is hoping to have a new deal in place before July 1.
“I love it here,” Heinen said during end of season media availability. “It’s a great organization to be a part of, and it’s a competitive team always, and that’s what you want.”
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