Danton Heinen was supposed to be a throw-in piece returned to the Blue Jackets as they parted ways with a disgruntled former first round pick. Ultimately, he found a role in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets had a disgruntled forward (Yegor Chinakhov) that had requested a trade back in the summer of 2025. General Manager Don Waddell was unable to find a suitable trade for him in the offseason.
It took until December 29th that Waddell found a good deal. He traded Chinakhov to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2nd (2026) and 3rd (2027) round pick and forward Danton Heinen. The draft capital was the real value that Waddell was after in the trade.
Heinen was essentially an add-on to the trade in order to balance the number of contracts for Pittsburgh. Heinen had bounced between the Penguins and their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre for most of the season.
Initially, the intention for Heinen was to have him play primarily in Cleveland and be a call-up in Columbus in the event of an injury. However, upon arriving in Columbus after the trade, Heinen never left the NHL club.
Heinen’s energy and hockey sense really earned the trust of the Blue Jackets coaching staff. He was mostly on the 4th line in a checking role but was elevated to the 2nd and 3rd line at times during the season.
He provided some offense but mostly improved the Blue Jackets forechecking. While in the hunt for a playoff spot, Head Coach Rick Bowness elected to keep Heinen in the lineup over other players (Voronkov, Johnson, etc.) who may have more upside. He was that consistent and really had the trust of the coaching staff.
Heinen is an unrestricted free agent this summer. It is unlikely that he will return to the organization due to the number of players (both UFA’s and RFA’s) that need contracts this summer. However, Head Coach Rick Bowness did have a lot of trust in Heinen. I could see a scenario where, depending on the other transactions made by the team, Heinen could return to fill-in on the 4th line.
Final season stats (for the Blue Jackets only): 33 games played, 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, 8 PIM, +6, 30 shots on goal, Overall grade: B+
Heinen was thrown into the Chinakhov trade with Pittsburgh to balance the number of contracts. The team expected him to mostly play for Cleveland but instead, he exceeded all expectations and was a solid player for the Blue Jackets. While he didn’t set the world on fire, he receives a B+ because he exceeded expectations.
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