Well this thread blew up, as I expected...
Seriously, regardless of how 'exciting' or 'not exciting' you view Heinen, I don't care if he was a big banger like Looch or not. That was never going to be his game. Neither was being a top 6 player, if you ask me, on a CONTENDING team. On a team like Anaheim, though, as they are right now? He may just be what they need, a boost of good defensive prowess with some skills in playmaking.
I was hoping he'd rebound this year, after last year. I didn't expect 40+ points from the guy, but he didn't thrive like I was hoping for. And Jake's been frustrating as well, for very similar reasons. The difference, it seems to me, is that Jake puts the puck in the net on a somewhat more consistent basis. Could Heinen do that if he were constantly playing with Krejci, on his left wing? Maybe. Maybe he would've.
As it so happens i'm starting to think even Jake's not suitable with Krej, though. Richie might be a far better option in terms of fit. Heinen and Coyle weren't a bad pair either though, so I cannot understand what was causing the scoring slump with Heinen this year. It wasn't because he was playing with fourth line linemates. Bjork is a rook, and is still learning the game on the fly, so I can somewhat give him a pass, but Coyle has been having a quite good year so far, and Heinen should've benefitted from that as much as Coyle should've benefitted from Heinen. For whatever reason is just wasn't working out quite like that.
Heinen wasn't a defining core player of this team, I hate to say. He was a great supporting player, and that is always a good addition, but this team really lacked a hammer - as I've heard another fan say - so I understand Sweeney's decision to give Heinen a new pasture to play in and bring in some real muscle with Ritchie, which Boston is gonna need in the playoffs. It is what it is. Heinen doesn't suck. I simply think he just wasn't working as a fitting piece for the puzzle this year. As a GM, getting attached to anyone is dangerous.
I'd be really careful about resigning Jake to a big contract right now, for example ,despite his apparent ability to score 20 goals per season. I'd also be wary of Bjork's struggles. But Heinen wasn't someone I hated.