A former Boston Bruins winger is officially available for the taking, as Danton Heinen has been placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season. Heinen has played in 13 games so far this season with the Penguins, where he has recorded one goal, one assist, and a plus-1 rating. His most recent appearance for Pittsburgh was during their Dec. 18 contest against the Ottawa Senators, so he has not been in their lineup in each of their last four games. Now, Heinen has been placed on waivers by the Penguins, with Blake Lizzotte set to return from injury. Heinen is certainly a player the Bruins know well. The Original Six club selected him with the 116th overall pick of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and he had two stints with the team. In 294 games as a member of the Bruins across five seasons, he recorded 51 goals, 88 assists, 139 points, and a plus-39 rating. Heinen most recently played for the Bruins during the 2023-24 season and put together one of the best years of his career. In 74 games with the Bruins that campaign, he posted 17 goals, 19 assists, 36 points, and a plus-16 rating. However, Heinen has had trouble replicating that kind of offense at the NHL level since. Heinen has a $2.25 million cap hit until the end of this season, so that could make teams stay away from claiming him off waivers. If he does in fact clear waivers, the Penguins would then freely be able to assign him to the AHL.
