The Bruins pulled the trigger on another deal ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, with Boston dealing away with Danton Heinen to the Ducks in exchange for left-shot winger Nick Ritchie.
Ritchie, 24, has appeared in 41 games with the Ducks this season, scoring eight goals and posting 19 points while accruing 78 penalty minutes. Ritchie checks off a couple of boxes as far as potential acquisitions go for the Bruins — as the 6-foot-2, 234-pound winger adds some heft to Boston’s bottom-six grouping.
The writing was on the wall for Heinen over the last couple of weeks, especially following the acquisition of Ondrej Kase and the emergence of Anders Bjork as a viable weapon on Charlie Coyle’s line. Heinen, who has tallied seven goals and posted 22 points over 58 games this season, has seen his reps drop as of late — appearing in only seven of Boston’s 11 games in February.
BSJ Analysis
Heinen might be one of the most polarizing players on the Bruins, due in large part to his muted style of play and uneven offensive production. But his value as a defensive stopper was one of the primary reasons he remained in Boston’s lineup — with the winger ranking third on the B’s roster (min. 300 minutes played) this season in expected 5v5 goals against per 60 minutes at 1.87.
(For Reference: Expected goals accounts for both shot quantity and quality by factoring in multiple shot factors, including the type of shot, distance from the net, angle, 5v5, power play, penalty kill, etc. As such, a player with a low expected goals against means that opposing teams aren’t generating good looks when he’s out on the ice).
But as Heinen’s offensive production continued to dip, his regular role in Boston’s middle-six grouping started to become less set in stone, especially as Bjork started to perform well beyond expectations as far as his efforts on the defensive side of things.
Bjork might have a higher ceiling than Heinen as far as potential O-zone production is concerned, but Heinen always seemed to have the inside edge against the Notre Dame product thanks to his two-way play.
But that advantage withered away as the season progressed, with Bjork actually ranking second on Boston’s roster in xGA/60 at 1.74. With Bjork starting to emerge as a versatile tool for Bruce Cassidy to utilize in multiple scenarios, Heinen started to become expendable.
When it comes down to it — the Bruins had other players that provide the two-way play that Heinen offers. What they didn’t have is what Ritchie can offer this club in a bottom-six role.
As a left-shot winger, Ritchie will likely slot in on Coyle’s line, with Bjork shifted over to right wing — a spot that he’s become accustomed to this season. With his aforementioned size, Richie’s game could translate well to the grind that is playoff hockey — especially with Boston likely needed to go through skill-heavy clubs like the Lightning or teams more than willing to punch back in the Capitals and Blues.
Along with his size and snarl, Ritchie has actually been a solid contributor as far as 5v5 offense goes, with the Ducks generating much more quality chances this season when Ritchie has been on the ice.
As you can see below, the Ducks' shot rates spike right around the net and other Grade-A spots when Ritchie hopped over the boards:
For a Bruins team that still ranks 27th in the NHL in expected goals scored per 60 minutes (2.13), a power forward that primarily generates quality shots down low like Ritchie could certainly help. Ritchie's individual expected goals per 60 minutes rate projects out to 0.87 — 28th overall among NHL forwards (min. 500 minutes played) and actually tied with ... David Pastrnak.
As a whole, I think the Bruins made out pretty well in this deal — dealing from an area of strength (defensive-minded forwards) and acquiring a player that will both add size to the lineup and provide a shot in the arm for Boston's 5v5 woes when it comes to quality chances.
Add in the fact that Ritchie is under contract through next year at right about $1.5 million — saving money in the process by moving Heinen's $2.8 million AAV off the books — and it looks as though Sweeney once again made the most out of an asset that was dropping in value.
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick, Sean Tierney and HockeyViz.
