Hockey is a funny business.
When this NHL season started, Danton Heinen was still a man without a contract. He’d been impressive enough in training camp while working on a tryout agreement to have made the roster, but the tight-against-the-cap Bruins still had to wait a little bit before they could actually sign him on October 30 — two weeks into the season — on a one-year deal for $775,000.
Now? He’s seeing top line duty with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. He’s got 13-15-28 totals, has points in six of his last eight games, he’s plus-8 and takes regular shift on the penalty kill.
Not bad for the league minimum.
“You never know with this game, right?” said Heinen on Thursday. “There’s ups, there’s downs. I’m just happy to be a part of it and want to build off of it.”
With the salary cap staying basically flat last summer, it was a tough economic landscape for a lot of players looking for work. The B’s were obviously hit hard by it, having to move two pricey players in Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, but they also benefited from it, too. They not only brought Heinen in on a tryout but there are also two players now in the lineup, Morgan Geekie and Jesper Boqvist, who were not qualified by their respective teams last summer.
With the cap expected to rise more generously than it did last summer, one would think that Heinen has re-established some marketability. But he’s not satisfied with what he’s accomplished.
“For me, I think I still have more in me,” he said. “I think I can create more and impact the game more. But, yeah, you definitely want to be here and you want to be a guy that’s reliable and a good pro day in and day out. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
How long he stays on this line remains to be seen. Coach Jim Montgomery is not shy about changing his lines and, as the B’s best Swiss Army knife, Heinen has played on all four lines at one point or another.
But as Montgomery looks to zero in on his lineup with the playoffs a month away, Heinen has a chance to solidify his sweet spot up in the lineup.
“I feel like it’s going pretty well,” said Heinen. “I’m just trying to build every game and get more comfortable with them and I just listen to hem and see what they want. Pasta had three last game, so that’s a good thing seeing him put the puck in the net. I’m just trying to put the puck in the net anyway I can.”
On his first tour of duty with the B’s, Heinen had played a little with Pastrnak, but he’s seen a lot of growth in the superstar in his return.
“You see as a guy how much he’s grown as a leader in the room,” said Heinen. “But I think on the ice, too, he’s grown into himself. He was a kid when he came into the league. People don’t realize how hard he plays and how many battles he wins to create that offense and how hard he is on pucks. I think that gets looked over sometimes.”
Heinen, too, has shown some growth in his game since was traded to Anaheim at the 2020 deadline, eventually ending up with the Penguins for two years. He’s upped his tenacity in puck battles and shown a good hockey IQ since coming back to Boston.
“I would say he’s the same player but he just has more experience,” said Pastrnak. “He’s been on a some great teams and met some world class players so you gain experience and learn from those guys. Experience plays a big part of it once you get a little older and understand the game a little differently….He’s a big part of our team.”
What next year holds for Heinen remains to be seen. He said he loves playing here and the vibe in the B’s dressing room, but so far there’s nothing imminent on an extension. How he performs in the playoffs could play a big part in whether he returns or not.
But his journey has taught him not to look too far in advance.
“I kind of block out that stuff,” said Heinen. “Just play and have fun.”
So far, that approach has worked well for him…
One thing that impressed Montgomery about Justin Brazeau was that, even though he was without an NHL contract last summer, he stuck around the area to work out in Boston. That said a lot to Montgomery.
“You trust your players are going to be working out and doing everything they can, but when you see and witness the transformation in someone’s body like we did with him and the dedication it takes and the financial commitment it took from him, it’s very noticeable,” said Montgomery. “It’s like if you work in an office and you get paid for 40 hours and you clock in and clock out at 40 hours and expect to get a promotion, it’s not the way it works. You’ve got to put in the hours to earn and grow as a person.”
Brazeau had kept his place in Providence and commuted back and forth to Boston for workouts.
“It’s obviously nice to be recognized (for that). I was here for two and half, three months to start the year and two years ago as well, so it’s it’s nice to see your yard work pays off,” said Brazeau….
James van Riemsdyk was designated as a scratch for the second straight game but, though he’s been skating, Montgomery said he wasn’t completely healthy.
“He’s just nursing some things,” said Montgomery. “To be honest, with his 1,000th game (last Saturday), it probably didn’t do him any service playing that night.”
Van Riemsdyk had missed the previous game with an illness that caused him to lose 12 pounds…
Pat Maroon, recovering from back surgery performed on February 7, returned to the ice for the first time on Thursday morning before the morning skate at the Garden.
“The Big Rig’s on his way back,” said Montgomery, who still termed him as week-to-week.