Blue Jackets sign Danton Heinen to one-year contract
The Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to terms on a new one-year, two-way contract with forward Danton Heinen, the club announced Wednesday afternoon.
Heinen, 31, split the 2025-26 season between the Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins, collecting six goals and 12 points in 46 games. The Penguins traded the 6’2″ left wing to the Blue Jackets in December 2025 as part of the deal that sent Yegor Chinakhov to Pittsburgh.
The Blue Jackets did not disclose the terms of Heinen’s new contract with the club, but PuckPedia reported that the deal carries a $1 million NHL cap hit. The Langley, B.C. product previously earned a $2.25 million NHL salary in the 2025-26 season.
“Danton is a competitive and versatile two-way forward who earned increased responsibility after joining our club in a trade last season,” Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said in a statement on Wednesday. “He provides valuable NHL experience and depth to the organization, and we are pleased he will remain a Blue Jacket for the upcoming season.”
A fourth-round pick (No. 116 overall) of the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL Draft, Heinen spent the following two seasons at the University of Denver before turning pro with the Bruins organization in 2016. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins in 2016-17.
Heinen scored a career-high 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) as a rookie with the Bruins in 2018-19. The following year, he skated in 24 playoff games as the Bruins embarked upon a run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the St. Louis Blues.
The Bruins traded Heinen to the Anaheim Ducks for Nick Ritchie ahead of the 2020 trade deadline. From there, Heinen went to the Penguins, back to the Bruins, and then to the Vancouver Canucks before rejoining the Penguins midway through the 2024-25 season.
Through 612 career NHL games over parts of 10 seasons split between the Bruins, Ducks, Penguins, Canucks, and Blue Jackets, Heinen has amassed 102 goals and 253 points. He’s added six goals and 13 points in 48 career playoff contests.
