News Article: “Why Did Bruins Fans Dislike Danton Heinen So Much?”

[GloryDaze4877]

Anybody who knows me, knew this was coming. Have to stay true to your beliefs, even when you are in the minority:


Why Did Bruins Fans Dislike Danton Heinen So Much?

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[Blowfish]

Anybody who knows me, knew this was coming. Have to stay true to your beliefs, even when you are in the minority:


Why Did Bruins Fans Dislike Danton Heinen So Much?

There was a time whereby I felt other players were more deserving however I grew to appreciate his hockey smarts and ability to play up down the line up. At one point I believe he played along side Marchand/Bergeron and didn't look out of place.

He has a underrated wrist shot - just wish he used in more.

Unfortunately the "Backes" signing has derailed the bruins in a number of ways ... for example retaining Heinen, losing a first etc...

IMO the better player is Heinen. I'm not sold on Ritchie. Hope I'm wrong.

Heinen is a casualty and I'm thinking the bruins management/coaching/players must be extremely disappointed he's gone.

btw I wouldn't be surprised if Heinen becomes the next Wheeler/Reilly.

 

[KnightofBoston]

The article is good towards the end when you get to the point.

 

[GoBs]

Heinen should have been a goalie.
Sometimes it seemed he didn’t have a pulse
I am not saying he didn’t care and I am sure he is highly competitive guy.
The guy is a legitimate nhl player

 

[KrejciMVP]

There was a time whereby I felt other players were more deserving however I grew to appreciate his hockey smarts and ability to play up down the line up. At one point I believe he played along side Marchand/Bergeron and didn't look out of place.

He has a underrated wrist shot - just wish he used in more.

Unfortunately the "Backes" signing has derailed the bruins in a number of ways ... for example retaining Heinen, losing a first etc...

IMO the better player is Heinen. I'm not sold on Ritchie. Hope I'm wrong.

Heinen is a casualty and I'm thinking the bruins management/coaching/players must be extremely disappointed he's gone.

btw I wouldn't be surprised if Heinen becomes the next Wheeler/Reilly.

I don't see that. 30-40 point 3rd line player. Wish him the best. Bruins probably saw his numbers were trending worse every year, didnt want to pay his salary next year and used him a trade piece to get some size for the playoff run which they were lacking. They did trade him at his lowest value.

 

[BB88]

He fell between 2 types this fan base loves.
Boston has to be among the tops when it comes to valuing physical play.

Lucic/Ritchie and Marchand/Pasta/Bergeron.

Heinen- Vanilla.

Boston could afford to take the bet on Ritchie over Heinen.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

He just didn’t seem willing to go the extra mile to win the puck and battle honestly. Almost all hockey players do it to at least some degree, some of the time. Heinen would go huge stretches where I felt like he just was not giving enough.

It is just to hard to accept that kind of play if there isn’t point production with it in my book. I wish him the best in being a better fit in Anaheim.

 

[Fenian24]

For me it was total lack of physical play, looking like he didn't care, have a pulse playing, being so vanilla and in many ways being the living embodiment of what I hate about the current NHL. An analytic driven player who was barely visible most of the time. I don't care that he was on the ice for x number of fewer goals than player y, I don't care about his possession numbers or corsi or fenwick or Billy Beane numbers. I want players that are engaged, that seem to give a **** about playing and their team. The hype from the cult and the nonsensical "Let's put him with Marchand and Bergeron" talking points didn't help him. A lot of this was beyond his control, he could control his physical play and looking like he had a pulse on the ice.

I'm sure he wasn't a bad person or a detriment in the room, I'm sure he did care but his whole personality is so laid back and just lazy appearing it sent the wrong message.

He will be a good 3rd line player for years to come as a defensive forward, maybe in Anaheim or maybe he is a guy that will always leave teams wanting more and become the new Brent Ashton, a guy who plays for 15 years on 9 teams.

As happy as I am that he is gone I wish him nothing but the best, he didn't cry like Spooner or Koko when they didn't get the playing time they felt they deserved, he put in the same effort (good or bad is up to how people felt about him) every night. The Ducks with little media and no pressure may be the best fit for him.

 

[Bmessy]

Who's more valuable to the 2020 Bruins.

Defensively responsible Heinen but he's not physical
or Bjork who is a literal ghost, not physical, but with goal scoring upside (although only 1 goal more than everyone's hated Heinen)

 

[ON3M4N]

Good to see my Co-Captain of the DH43 fan club again. Funny enough I never knew your real name and now realize that we chat on Twitter & routinely were tag teaming the anti-Heinen crowd

 

[Bumper]

"I don't care that he understands the game in way I'll never be able to and that he played well, making everybody around him better on every line he was used on -- he didn't score enough exciting goals to make me stop being angry about how he was obviously enjoying his life. he and Bjork were too good together and it had to stop. I want goals and minuses over steady pluses because stick-puck-net equals yay and winning games equals boo!"

 

[Number8]

For me, my feelings about Heinen were more of a counterbalance to others who seemed to think his very hot beginning to his rookie season was the rule, not the exception.

I felt that in his rookie season he fell off a cliff about 50% of the way through. Not at all rare. And, because he had a strong enough start, his numbers looked very good for the full rookie season.

However, in season 2, he again played much more like the second half of year 1 -- a continuation of a fairly average 25-35 point pace. Same trend in year 3. All this despite getting time on 2nd line and powerplay. To me, the eye test did nothing but confirm this trend.

IMO his game was never anything to get overly excited about one way or the other (except during that really hot start as a rookie).

So, to the point, I never had an issue with Heinen -- but I didn't buy the argument that he was more than he is.

To me though, you can analytics the hell out of a player all you want. However, that doesn't change the fact that 30 point forwards that play defensively responsible game are a fantastic but not terribly rare commodity. If you have a team that has a need, and you have a surplus of a valuable asset (defensively responsible forwards), you make a move.

Regardless, he seems like a very nice kid, is a legit NHLér, and certainly plays a responsible 200 foot game. Really wish him the best -- there's absolutely no reason not to.

 

[BlackFrancis]

Who's more valuable to the 2020 Bruins.

Defensively responsible Heinen but he's not physical
or Bjork who is a literal ghost, not physical, but with goal scoring upside (although only 1 goal more than everyone's hated Heinen)

Saint Danton didn't start the year in Providence, then as a staple of the fourth line.

Then again, Bjork didn't return a more useful player in trade this season, so we'll give Heinen the win on value for this season.

 

[Ratty]

Heinen off to a good start for the Ducks, 1-1-2 in two games. Same for Ritchie for the Bruins. No doubt both teams are happy, at this point, with their acquisitions. Change of scenery often helps bring out the best in players.

 

[TCB]

He just didn’t seem willing to go the extra mile to win the puck and battle honestly. Almost all hockey players do it to at least some degree, some of the time. Heinen would go huge stretches where I felt like he just was not giving enough.

It is just to hard to accept that kind of play if there isn’t point production with it in my book. I wish him the best in being a better fit in Anaheim.

At times he reminded me of a receiver who would run that perfect route, but then while going over the middle his arms all of a sudden got a whole lot shorter.

 

[Baddkarma]

Soft on the puck, like Pasta, but no high end skills.

Like I said. He will get some Vatrano like PP time and people will go SEE SEE! I told you the numbers don't lie!

He was not a good fit on this Boston team. Good luck to him and his fam.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

Blame the GM for putting the kid in a position to fail

I do think this is a good Hockey trade if Nick Ritchie doesn't turn into Brett Ritchie

 

[BruinsBtn]

I really like Heinen's game. I suspect he's going to be a good 55-point player for many years. He needed to be in a spot where he can grow his confidence because that's all that's missing right now.

Anyone writing that he was soft on the puck is out-to-lunch. He's a great possession player.

 

[TCB]

Dealing Heinen for Ritchie is a perfect case of two players who can really benefit from the move and by the Bruins adding Ritchie, the award is a lot greater than the risk. A win for the Bruins and Sweeney.

 

[sarge88]

Aside from the lack of physicality and outward passion/intensity my dislike for him was intensified by a couple of things:

1. The analytic arguments --the way that people referred to so many stats that really mean nothing to me and do nothing but make me enjoy the game less as an argument in his favor made him even more unlikable for me.

2. Similar to the above, the attempts and contortions by many to convince people that he was actually "tough" despite all the evidence to the contrary was another frustrating aspect of his tenure here.

3. The fact that so many just couldn't get themselves to admit that he was simply a JAG was also frustrating. Now, I may be different that a lot of people as I probably consider a higher % of NHL'ers than most, to be replacable, but this guy was the definition of a JAG. Third liner - minimal to moderate offensive production, good defensively, not tough, no physical game.....I just described probably 3-5 guys on every team in the league. If you add in the other 1-2 guys per team that fit the description above with a little more toughness and now we're talking 4-7 guys per team. That's what a JAG is -- a guy who could go to another team and that team doesn't get better because of them and the team they left doesn't get worse because he left.

In the end, he just bored me to death and it's not because I don't "understand the game" or "appreciate the subtleties and nuances". If that were the case Dave Poulin, David Krejci and Dave Reid wouldn't be among my 3 favorite players of all time. Dave Poulin was a defensive forward that made it exciting. Krejci is as quiet and subtle as one can be on the ice. Reid was tremendously underrated, and not physical (for that time) as almost any regular, but I appreciated his overall game.

Lastly, for me, I have no problem saying that sometimes you just don't like a guy. Certainly the reasons above played a big part, but I can't say that I was ever a big fan of his, even when he was playing well in the first part of year 1. I didn't hate him, but I didn't watch him play and feel any kind of connection or get any particular enjoyment from watching him play.

Edit/add --- I will say that I don't think he was disliked as much as GD thinks. Admittedly, I stay far away from the cesspool that is Twitter -- but I think far more fans liked him or were at worst neutral to him than disliked him.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I did like Danton Heinen. A lot.

He disappointed me. Never took the step forward that he needed to to become a top six player. So I resigned to him being a third line talent.

In the end, I think it was a fit/pacing issue. Always said he looked fantastic when he was making quick, confident decisions with the puck... but we so rarely got to see that side of him. And I predicted he would succeed in the right system where his more deliberate pace would mix right with his teammates.

I think he’ll be good for the Ducks, but it was the right trade for the Bruins.

 

[NDiesel]

Think he just needed a change in scenery. Hit a wall after a solid rookie year and just sidnt show much growth in his game the next two years. No doubt in my mind hell be closer to his rookie year totals in Anaheim.

 

[TCB]

Aside from the lack of physicality and outward passion/intensity my dislike for him was intensified by a couple of things:

1. The analytic arguments --the way that people referred to so many stats that really mean nothing to me and do nothing but make me enjoy the game less as an argument in his favor made him even more unlikable for me.

2. Similar to the above, the attempts and contortions by many to convince people that he was actually "tough" despite all the evidence to the contrary was another frustrating aspect of his tenure here.

3. The fact that so many just couldn't get themselves to admit that he was simply a JAG was also frustrating. Now, I may be different that a lot of people as I probably consider a higher % of NHL'ers than most, to be replacable, but this guy was the definition of a JAG. Third liner - minimal to moderate offensive production, good defensively, not tough, no physical game.....I just described probably 3-5 guys on every team in the league. If you add in the other 1-2 guys per team that fit the description above with a little more toughness and now we're talking 4-7 guys per team. That's what a JAG is -- a guy who could go to another team and that team doesn't get better because of them and the team they left doesn't get worse because he left.

In the end, he just bored me to death and it's not because I don't "understand the game" or "appreciate the subtleties and nuances". If that were the case Dave Poulin, David Krejci and Dave Reid wouldn't be among my 3 favorite players of all time. Dave Poulin was a defensive forward that made it exciting. Krejci is as quiet and subtle as one can be on the ice. Reid was tremendously underrated, and not physical (for that time) as almost any regular, but I appreciated his overall game.

Lastly, for me, I have no problem saying that sometimes you just don't like a guy. Certainly the reasons above played a big part, but I can't say that I was ever a big fan of his, even when he was playing well in the first part of year 1. I didn't hate him, but I didn't watch him play and feel any kind of connection or get any particular enjoyment from watching him play.

Great post and Well said

 

[BadBruins]

Because he didn't progress. Can probably make a case it's been steady regression since that first 40 or so games. I see he's getting some quality PP and PK time in Anaheim. I think he will thrive having an actual role and being valued. Or not. You really never know what you're going to get with him, which was part of the problem. Doesn't move the needle in either direction.

I don't think everyone hated him. There was a vocal minority who dumped on him every time he didn't react in to scrum and another group who praised him endlessly for every stick check. I would wager most were indifferent.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

For me it was total lack of physical play, looking like he didn't care, have a pulse playing, being so vanilla and in many ways being the living embodiment of what I hate about the current NHL. An analytic driven player who was barely visible most of the time. I don't care that he was on the ice for x number of fewer goals than player y, I don't care about his possession numbers or corsi or fenwick or Billy Beane numbers. I want players that are engaged, that seem to give a **** about playing and their team. The hype from the cult and the nonsensical "Let's put him with Marchand and Bergeron" talking points didn't help him. A lot of this was beyond his control, he could control his physical play and looking like he had a pulse on the ice.

I'm sure he wasn't a bad person or a detriment in the room, I'm sure he did care but his whole personality is so laid back and just lazy appearing it sent the wrong message.

He will be a good 3rd line player for years to come as a defensive forward, maybe in Anaheim or maybe he is a guy that will always leave teams wanting more and become the new Brent Ashton, a guy who plays for 15 years on 9 teams.

As happy as I am that he is gone I wish him nothing but the best, he didn't cry like Spooner or Koko when they didn't get the playing time they felt they deserved, he put in the same effort (good or bad is up to how people felt about him) every night. The Ducks with little media and no pressure may be the best fit for him.

so basically because he didnt make mean faces...gotcha

FYI, Heinen has more hits than DeBrusk the last 1+ seasons and only 10 fewer the past 2+ seasons.