In the realm of professional sports, finding a player who can deliver consistent, impactful performances while carrying an affordable price tag is akin to discovering a hidden gem. In the case of Danton Heinen, the Boston Bruins have unearthed such a gem in the 2023-24 NHL season, five years since he last played for the team.
Heinen’s return to the Bruins might not have made headlines outside of Boston, but the veteran forward has quietly become a valuable asset for the team, proving that sometimes the best deals are the ones that fly under the radar.
Heinen’s journey back to the Bruins was anything but glamorous. After an unremarkable, though not terrible 2022-23 season with the Penguins, he found himself without any takers in free agency. It took a professional tryout (PTO) contract in early September before Boston officially brought him back into the fold on a one-year, $775,000 deal at the end of October, a few weeks into the season.
At 28 years old, Heinen has refined his game and become a more consistent, confident version of himself compared to what the Bruins got from him between 2016 and 2020. It isn’t stickhandling skills, huge hits, jaw-dropping point totals or highlight-reel plays that make Heinen an impactful player in 2023. Instead, it’s his ability to work along the boards, his contested plays and the way he drives play in the right direction that contribute to winning hockey and make him so important to the Bruins.
“What we’ve seen from him is a guy who is playing the right way,” said head coach Montgomery when discussing Heinen. “He’s reloading well. He’s winning. We keep track of 50-50 battles. He’s someone that’s winning at a 64% level. So we’re getting the puck, he’s ending plays and we’re going the other way, or he’s keeping pucks alive in the offensive zone. And he’s made a lot of good offensive plays, either support plays, usually. And he’s becoming more primary as he’s trying to — we’ve encouraged him to use his shot more, and I think he’s done that here in the last five games.”
Heinen’s contributions on the ice have already transcended his contract. He’s not only exceeded expectations but also positioned him as a steal for a team navigating the complexities of a cap-crunch offseason that saw them lose a significant amount of high-end talent and retool with inexpensive deals. Heinen’s versatility has made him worth every cent of his deal, allowing Montgomery to use him in a variety of ways.
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Whether he’s skating somewhere in the bottom-six or playing in a top-six role alongside Matthew Poitras and Brad Marchand, Heinen has been an effective player who gives Montgomery options. This hasn’t been lost on his teammates either, as Marchand also noted Heinen’s impact for the team during this stint with the team.
“Very good, responsible player all over the ice,” Marchand said of Heinen. “It always seems like the puck is around him. Really sneaky good two-way player. Really strong defensive stick and very smart with the puck. He’s got incredible IQ with the puck and hockey IQ away from it. So, he’s been a huge addition to our group. It’s fun to see him do well.”
Heinen’s Well-Rounded Play-Style Suited for Any Role
What’s been so important for Heinen is that he hasn’t had to change his game to accomodate anybody. Instead, his brand of hockey just lends well to whoever he lines up next to, which has made him a seamless transition from game to game and even shift to shift, depending on what Montgomery needs.
“I don’t think I try to change too much, just complement those guys any way I can. Obviously they’re high-skilled guys and offensive guys,” said Heinen of playing with Marchand and Poitras.
Heinen’s ability to better use his body and reconsider how he approaches certain situations has made him a better overall player and a better fit for the Bruins and the way they like to play hockey.
“I think I rely on my stick a lot, maybe too much in the past,” Heinen said. “I’ve tried to get better at getting body position and get my body in there and then rely on my stick to win it. A little bit of both there. It’s something I keep on trying to improve on.”
Heinen’s return to the Bruins has seemed to be a home run thus far. If he can continue to play an impactful brand of hockey and give the team the versatility to slide up and down the lineup at the drop of a hat, then he’ll far exceed his price point for the 2023-24 season. For the Bruins, this means they got way more bang for their buck than expected. For Heinen, this means another contract in the NHL at what one would assume would be a higher salary; a win-win situation for both sides.
