Should Penguins Have Let Danton Heinen Become UFA amid NHL Contract Rumors?

Much of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2021-22 roster is going to remain intact for the upcoming season. Even Evgeni Malkin.

On Tuesday night, the Penguins signed Malkin to a four-year, $24.4 million extension, which was a bit of a surprise after reports had circulated about Malkin being expected to test the free-agent market. Malkin joined defenseman Kris Letang and forwards Alexander Nylander and Rickard Rakell as players already re-signed by Pittsburgh this offseason.

However, the Pens haven't brought everybody back. While they extended a qualifying offer to Kasperi Kapanen on Monday—which keeps him a restricted free agent—they did not extend one to Danton Heinen, who will now be an unrestricted free agent when free agency begins Wednesday at noon ET.

It was a bit unexpected that Pittsburgh didn't keep the free-agent rights to the 27-year-old Heinen, as he's coming off a solid first season with the team. The forward tallied 33 points (18 goals and 15 assists) in 76 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

According to The Athletic's Josh Yohe, the team was "not close on terms for a new contract, which played into the decision to not extend him a qualifying offer."

It doesn't rule out a return to Pittsburgh for Heinen, but he's now free to negotiate with any of the NHL's 31 other teams.

The Penguins are also now down to $4.2 million in available cap space (per CapFriendly), and they may still want to work out a deal with Kapanen.

Yohe reported that Heinen wants to sign a deal with an average annual value around $3 million. While he's a solid player, it makes sense that Pittsburgh didn't want to give him that type of money with Malkin, a franchise cornerstone, unsigned at that point.

That also would have marked a substantial raise for Heinen, who signed with the Pens on a one-year, $1.1 million contract last offseason. He provided tremendous value at that price, but he also doesn't have a long track record of NHL success.

A six-year NHL veteran, Heinen has recorded more than 34 points only once in his career, and that was in his first full season in 2017-18, when he had 47 points with the Boston Bruins.

If Heinen would have been willing to sign at a similar price as last offseason, then it would have made sense for Pittsburgh to bring him back as a strong bottom-six player. But it's clear why the Penguins chose not to do so.

With Malkin now signed, they'll still have the opportunity to retain Kapanen and potentially sign another forward on a prove-it deal, like they did with Heinen last offseason.

If Heinen's market isn't as strong as his camp had hoped, perhaps it could be wise for Pittsburgh to restart negotiations. But for now, the team likely isn't losing much sleep about its decision, particularly with Malkin now back in the fold.