The Pittsburgh Penguins made a late-night trade on Friday with the Vancouver Canucks, who were in the news earlier in the day completing a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers.
When the ink dried on the J.T. Miller deal, the Canucks turned around and flipped the first-round pick they acquired from the Rangers and used it to acquire former Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
Meanwhile, forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and prospect Melvin Fernström are coming to Pittsburgh.
The Penguins acquired the Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick (conditional), forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, and 2024 third-round pick Melvin Fernstrom from the Canucks for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
Details: https://t.co/96yIZjGSC4 pic.twitter.com/3gBNgTiFLw
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2025
Heinan is back with the Penguins for the second time, having worn black and gold from 2021 to 2023. It’s also the second time he’s played with the same franchise, having skated with the Boston Bruins twice.
Here are five things to know about the 29-year-old from Langley, BC.
Second Stint With Penguins
As mentioned, Heinen has dressed for the Penguins before, coming to town as a free agent in July 2021. During his first season, he scored 18 goals and 33 points in 76 games, earning a new one-year deal in July 2022.
Unfortunately, Heinen could not recapture the magic from the previous season, scoring only eight goals and 22 points while going from a plus-6 to a minus-5.
The following summer, he rejoined the Boston Bruins as a free agent before relocating to Vancouver in July 2024.
Interestingly, Heinen skated in the Penguins’ last playoff series, a first-round loss to the Rangers in April 2022.
Two-Time Rookie of the Year
While captaining the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL, Heinen scored 29 goals and 62 points in 57 games in 2013-14 and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year (Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy). He was also named to the BCHL All-Rookie Team and took home the Most Sportsmanlike Player trophy.
