Danton Heinen, Bruins heading to salary arbitration - what can both parties expect?

It may stand as one of the Bruins’ top remaining offseason priorities, but Don Sweeney wasn’t sweating the extended process that often comes when an NHL club has to negotiate with its restricted free agents. 

For now, dialogue between Sweeney, his staff and Boston’s RFA trio of Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen remains ongoing — with the only deadline that both parties have to adhere to coming on December 1 (a RFA who does not sign a new contract by December 1st becomes ineligible to play for the rest of the season). 

While Sweeney and the Bruins don’t expect these negotiations to carry on as long as the fiasco between William Nylander and the Maple Leafs last winter, there’s certainly no guarantee that Boston will have all three of these skaters back in the fold by the time that calendar flips to August. 

“No, yeah, it’s a constant dialogue,” Sweeney said on Monday. “There’s just no way to push anybody to the table or pull anybody to the table. It’s a matter of some of these things just take time. You’re never out of communication. It’s the wrong approach, in my opinion. There’s no line in the sand. You have to work to find a deal, what works for both sides.”

However, the B’s might have a solution on the horizon with one of their RFAs, as the NHLPA announced Friday evening that Heinen has elected for salary arbitration. Heinen was one of two arbitration-eligible players on Boston’s roster — with Peter Cehlarik opting to avoid the process. 

Both Carlo and McAvoy — needing four pro years completed before becoming arbitration eligible — will not hit the quota until after the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season, respectively. 

With Heinen and the Bruins heading to arbitration, both parties can expect 



the winger to fall somewhere within market value when it comes to his new contract, even if both player and team are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the overall pay range. 

Heinen, who made $995,833 in the final year of his entry-level contract in 2018-19, is in line for a nice pay raise for the 2019-20 campaign, with the 24-year-old forward expected to make somewhere in the range between $2-3 million annually with his new deal. 

After both parties submit their suggested salaries to an arbitrator, a ruling will come down either in July or early next month. Once a salary has been decided, the Bruins can elect to accept the terms set down by the arbitrator and then choose either a one or a two-year deal for the player. 

Obviously, if the annual salary hovers around $2-2.5 million, the Bruins would likely be doing a few backflips en route to a new two-year contract for Heinen. Both parties can also continue their own contract negotiations throughout the arbitration process. 

The Bruins also have the right to walk away from a player, with an NHL club given 48 hours to choose to accept a deal based on the arbitrator’s decision. Boston last did that back in 2006 when it cut ties with defenseman David Tanabe after he was set to earn a deal with an AAV of $1.25 million. 

While Heinen’s production dropped from 2017-18 — in which he ranked ninth amongst all NHL rookies with 47 points — the winger was still a regular contributor all across the lineup this past season, ranking seventh on the team with 34 points over 77 games. 

A solid, two-way forward that ranked second amongst all Bruins forwards last year with a goals against per 60 min. rate of 1.33, Heinen could also see his value spike next season if he gets more reps in a top-six role. Last year, when Heinen was slotted in next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the first line for 197 minutes of 5v5 TOI,  the Bruins outscored the competition, 11-4. 

Wherever Heinen lands in the lineup next season — and whatever salary is ultimately agreed on in the coming weeks — Boston stands to benefit from some great value in whatever Heinen’s new deal figures to be.