Blue Jackets re-sign Danton Heinen to one-year, two-way deal

Columbus locked up Danton Heinen on a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season, a move that gives the Blue Jackets a proven NHL forward who can slide between Columbus and the AHL without disrupting the roster. For an organization still shaping its depth chart, the deal is less about headlines than insulation: Heinen gives the club another experienced body for call-up duty and a stabilizing presence if injuries hit.

The contract carries a $1 million NHL salary, a $550,000 AHL salary and a $700,000 guarantee. Those numbers match the kind of safety-net deal teams use when they want a veteran available for both levels, and Heinen fits that profile cleanly. CBJ Public Relations listed him at 102 goals, 151 assists and 253 points in 612 career NHL games over 10 seasons, a résumé that separates him from the usual plug-in depth option.

Heinen also already showed Columbus what he can do in a limited stretch. The Blue Jackets said he had five goals and 10 points in 33 games after being acquired on Dec. 29 of the previous season, giving the front office a recent sample of a player who can contribute in a middle-six role and still give the coaching staff dependable minutes when needed. The club acquired him from Pittsburgh in the trade for Yegor Chinakhov, a deal that also brought Columbus a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in 2027.

That context matters because Columbus has spent the offseason trying to round out a roster that still needed work around the edges. Don Waddell, the team’s president and general manager, was identified as a key decision-maker in that process, and Heinen’s return fits the same practical logic that has driven the rest of the Blue Jackets’ planning. A veteran forward on a two-way contract is not a splash move, but it is the kind that protects the organization at both levels, keeps the affiliate more competitive, and makes the next injury call-up easier to manage.