Danton Heinen

Heinen has bounced around since leaving Boston, spending a year-plus with the Ducks before arriving in Pittsburgh last season. He posted a career-high 18 goals in addition to managing 33 points, his highest total since the 2018-19 campaign. Heinen ended up being non-qualified by the Penguins before re-signing with the club on a one-year, $1 million deal. Heinen will return to his middle-six role with the club while also seeing some time on the second power-play unit, although his usage doesn't figure to be high enough to make him an option in anything but the deepest fantasy formats.

After combining for 27 goals and 81 points in his first two NHL seasons, Heinen's offensive production has dropped significantly over the past three campaigns. He scored seven goals and 14 points in 41 games with the Ducks last season and didn't receive a qualifying offer from Anaheim this offseason. Now on a one-year deal with Pittsburgh, the 26-year-old forward will be battling for playing time in a crowded bottom six. Heinen will likely see a decrease from the 14:46 of ice time he averaged last season and won't see much power-play time with the Penguins, further dampening his fantasy value.

Heinen only managed 26 points in 67 games split between the Bruins and the Ducks in 2019-20. He rebounded a bit after landing in Anaheim, notching four points in nine games following the trade. He also saw 2:10 of extra ice time per game with the Ducks. The 2014 fourth-round pick's production has steadily declined since his strong rookie campaign, but a full year with the Ducks could get him back on course. Heinen is expected to fill a middle-six role with some power-play duties mixed in this season. He should be able to produce at a 30-point pace, but he likely won't add much of anything in the physical categories.

Though Heinen took a bit of step back in his second full campaign with the Bruins, en route to logging 11 goals and 34 points in 77 games last season, the 24 year-old forward is someone the team would like to keep around. Even when he's not a big producer on offense, the 2014 fourth-rounder is a responsible two-way player. At times, Heinen has displayed the skill it takes to be a top-six forward at the NHL level, but the consistency hasn't always been there. As a result, the 6-foot-1, 188-pounder seems ideally suited for third-line duties at this stage of his career.

In first first full season with the big club, Heinen was a pleasant surprise, scoring 16 goals and 47 points in 77 regular-season games. It's suspected that the 23-year-old will be ticketed for third-line duty this coming season, but the Bruins do have an open top-six spot (previously occupied by Rick Nash) up for grabs and Heinen can make a run for the job in training camp thanks to his solid blend of skills, defensive responsibility and hockey IQ.

Heinen didn't record a point in eight games with the big club this past season, but the 22-year-old finished the AHL’s regular-season slate with 14 goals and 44 points in 64 games -- and then took things to another level during the Calder Cup playoffs, scoring nine goals and 18 points in 17 contests. With his strong postseason run in mind, it’s not hard to imagine the University of Denver product making a run at an NHL roster spot to open the 2017-18 season, although a likely bottom-six role will limit his fantasy value even if he does break camp with the big club.

With the void created by the free agent departure of Loui Eriksson, Heinen and Frank Vatrano are younger in-house candidates to make runs at key roles up front with the Bruins this season. The 21-year-old Heinen is coming off a campaign in which he scored 20 goals and 48 points as a sophomore for the University of Denver, en route to helping his team earn a slot in the NCAA Frozen Four. While he remains a speculative play in fantasy, Heinen -- who is listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds -- has the sort of skill set and hockey IQ that could transfer well to the pro game.