Breaking news: Andrew Peeke has been suspended from the team of Boston Bruins for 8months due to……Read More..

The last time Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had available cash, he spent big. Ahead of the 2021-22 season, the Bruins invested just under $25 million in Taylor Hall, Linus Ullmark, Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly and Tomas Nosek.

A similar shopping spree could be coming. In fact, the Bruins could have nearly the same amount of money if Sweeney can execute his No. 1 summer priority.

Right before training camp started last fall, the Boston Bruins agreed to a PTO with veteran forward Danton Heinen. His first stop with the Bruins ended at the trade deadline in February of 2020 when he was sent to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a trade that acquired Nick Ritchie.

Since being traded to the Ducks, he spent a year and a half in Anaheim before spending two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had 15 goals and 18 assists in his first season in Pittsburgh, and then he had eight goals and 14 assists the following year before they let him go in free agency. After not signing with anyone, Don Sweeney brought him back to Boston on a PTO. He stayed with the organization once the regular season began and signed a one-year deal at the end of October and he turned into a key piece for the Black and Gold.

Once he signed, not many people saw the season he was going to have coming. He became a good 5-on-5 player for second-year head coach Jim Montgomery and even worked his way into the penalty-killing unit. He had 17 goals and 19 assists in 74 games playing up and down the lineup before being a staple in the middle-six as the season went along.

He had a knack for scoring timely goals throughout the season and even recorded a hat trick in January in a win over the Montreal Canadiens at home. One of his goals was a shorthanded tally against the Vancouver Canucks in February in a 4-0 Boston win at home.