There was a point this past offseason -- after the frenzy of the opening of free agency -- that the Penguins' depth at forward appeared a bit sketchy. Not because they didn't have plenty of serviceable options at forward to round out the bottom of the lineup, but they really lacked a solid secondary source of impactful offense as you worked your way down the roster.
Then, on July 27, an absolute bargain fell into Ron Hextall's lap: Danton Heinen on a one-year contract at a flat $1 million value, a $100,000 salary decrease from a season ago.
Going into the offseason Heinen was a restricted free agent, but the Penguins did not submit a qualifying offer to him before the deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent. Ultimately, that worked in Hextall's favor, as Heinen assuredly would have been awarded considerably more in an arbitration case.
At the time his latest contract was signed, I spoke with a source who told me Heinen's final decision to return to the Penguins came down to taking money out of the picture. The market for him wasn't great, but there were several offers on the table that were better than what he ended up signing for. He felt very strongly about returning to the Penguins and winning a Stanley Cup. He loves Pittsburgh just as much as his teammates and Mike Sullivan.
Heinen's selflessness is already paying off for the Penguins, as he's recorded a goal and two assists through three games after a season in which he scored 18 goals despite logging the fewest minutes per game of regular Penguins skaters.
Following practice here at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday, I spoke with Heinen about his current performance and his decision to return to the Penguins on such a cheap deal.
"I’m feeling pretty good," Heinen told me. "It’s nice when you have a year under your belt and to come in and know everybody. You have that side of it, where you’re a little more comfortable with everybody. It’s been a pretty good start for the team, we just gotta try to keep building."
It has been pretty apparent that Heinen is feeling even more comfortable in his environment this season. He has been the best player on the Penguins' third-line, and seems to make at least a play or two every shift that positively impacts the Penguins' ability to get out of the D-zone and up ice to generate offense.
Is his confidence at an all-time high?
"I’m not sure if it’s the highest it’s ever been. I want it to be," Heinen said. "But yeah, I’m maybe a little less scared to make certain plays, and knowing that you have the freedom here to be creative and make those plays. That’s my goal, is try to just keep on getting confidence and make myself as confident as I can."
I'd really love to see some clips of Heinen at his highest confidence level, because the clip above shows an assertive player who couldn't be more certain about what they're capable of.
Our conversation then switched lanes toward the contract he signed over the offseason. Was it really that important for him to come back and play with the Penguins instead of taking a deal that would have been much more in line with the actual value he provides?
"Yeah, for sure," Heinen said, perhaps with more absoluteness than anything else I've ever heard him say. "Everybody values different things. I think for me, the group of people and how you get along with everybody, how you fit in, that’s really important to me. And I mean, it’s a really good hockey team we got here, so I believe we can win. Obviously it’s a process and a lot of hard work, but that’s a big part of it, too."
After being traded from the Bruins to the Ducks during the 2019-20 season, Heinen really struggled to put the entirety of his game together. After finally being able to do so last season, sticking around with the Penguins -- even on a cheap contract -- was a more enticing option than going elsewhere and starting over.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• It appears Teddy Blueger's return to the lineup will have to wait a little longer. During practice Blueger reverted back to a gray non-contact jersey after wearing a regular jersey his past two times on the ice, but that can simply be chalked up to both of those skates being optional.
Mike Sullivan said that Blueger remains day-to-day, though he is continuing to progress, and that he does not anticipate Blueger being available for Thursday's matchup with the Kings here at PPG Paints Arena. If that's the case, Blueger will have missed at least three weeks with this upper-body injury sustained during training camp.
On Wednesday Blueger skated on a fourth D-pairing with Chad Ruhwedel and rotated in with the first penalty-kill unit.
• The Penguins' lines and pairings on defense, once again, remained unchanged during practice:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Ryan Poehling - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta
Teddy Blueger - Chad Ruhwedel
• The coaching staff spent a decent chunk of practice running the team through special teams work. Here is the personnel that was utilized:
PP1: Crosby, Guentzel, Rust, Malkin, Letang
PP2: Carter, Rakell, Heinen, Zucker, Petry
PK1: Poehling, McGinn, Dumoulin, Rutta (Blueger rotating in)
PK2: Kapanen, Archibald, Joseph, Pettersson
• Sullivan was asked if Malkin’s "grind game" has evolved at all since taking over as head coach during the 2015-16 season.
"I think he’s developed it over the course of time, and I think a lot of it has to do with who we play him with," Sullivan said. "When we play him with certain guys that can help him in that aspect of the game – Geno’s capable of playing any type of game. He’s a generational talent and he’s capable of playing any game. The most important thing, for us, is we’re trying to surround him with the right people that give him the ability to create offense different ways. When you look at Rusty and Zuck, for example, those are two guys that thrive in that environment."
• During practice I noticed Rakell was rocking a fresh haircut, which was much to the disappointment of fans on Twitter. The update on his haircut gained more traction than anything else I shared from practice, so I asked Rakell afterward if he knew fans would be in an uproar that the long, curly flow is gone.
"I wouldn't be too concerned. This hair grows fast," he laughed.
I'll have more from our chat (hockey-related) in this week's Friday Insider.
• The Penguins will hold an optional morning skate tomorrow at PPG Paints Arena, 10:30 a.m., before their matchup with the Kings at 7 p.m. I'll have your coverage of the skate, then Dejan Kovacevic will join me for the game.
