With less than a week before the 2025-26 NHL season begins, more and more players are being placed on waivers. On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins placed defenseman Billy Sweezey on waivers, and he cleared on Thursday.
He won't be the last Bruins player placed on waivers in the coming days with cuts looming after Boston's sixth and final preseason game on Saturday, when they host the New York Rangers at the TD Garden. Other teams are starting to place more players on waivers, and on Thursday, a former Boston forward who had two stints with the club was placed on waivers by a rebuilding Metropolitan Division team.
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed former Bruins forward Danton Heinen on waivers
According to PuckPedia, Danton Heinen was one of six players the Pittsburgh Penguins placed on waivers on Thursday. It is a little surprising that Heinen was waived, as he is a serviceable forward for a team that is in line for a rebuild.
Drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 Entry Draft, Heinen had 34 goals and 69 assists in three years with the Bruins from 2017-18 to 2019-20. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for rugged forward Nick Ritchie on Feb. 24, 2020. After a year and a half with Anaheim, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2021 offseason. He returned to Boston for the 2023-24 season after signing a PTO and earning a contract.
That turned out to be a good move by Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after he had 17 goals and 19 assists in a season where the Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division and took down the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before he left in free agency.
Does claiming Heinen make sense for the Bruins right now? No, it doesn't, as they already have a roster filled with players like him. However, he still has something left and would be a nice bottom-six addition to a roster looking for depth.