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Bruins give Heinen two-year, $5.6 million extension

2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Three

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JUNE 01: Danton Heinen #43 of the Boston Bruins plays against the St. Louis Blues during Game Three of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center on June 01, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

The Boston Bruins didn’t make any splashes during free agency mainly because they had to focus on bringing back their own restricted free agents. Well, on Tuesday, they managed to sign one of those players to a new contract.

The team announced the signing of forward Danton Heinen to a two-year, $5.6 million extension. The two sides were scheduled to go to arbitration on Aug. 3, but that will no longer be necessary.

The Bruins drafted the 24-year-old in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he’s played two full seasons for Boston. He scored 16 goals and 47 points in 77 games during his rookie year, and 11 goals and 34 points in 77 games last season. He added two goals and eight points in 24 games during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last spring.

Heinen has the ability to slide up and down the lineup and he provides the Bruins with another depth scoring option.
[ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker]

What does this mean for their current cap situation?

The Bruins now have just over $7.353 million in cap space remaining to sign RFAs Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. Clearly, that won’t be enough money to get both players signed, but the Bruins currently have 23 players on their active roster, which means they can send a couple of players to the minors to open up more space.

They currently have seven defenseman signed, so adding McAvoy and Carlo would bring them up to nine, which is way too many anyway. Steven Kampfer could head to the minors if everyone starts the season healthy. They could also opt to trade someone like Kevan Miller, too.

Unless injuries strike in training camp, the Bruins will have some tough decisions to make on their blue line (that’s a good problem).

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.