Heinen contract is unfortunate for him, good for Penguins

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty ImagesThe Penguins got the perfect part yesterday to boost their bottom six, with the return to Pittsburgh by Danton Heinen. Despite having a really nice season that saw him score 18 goals, the open market wasn’t very welcoming to Heinen, resulting in a $1.0 million deal for one season.

The NHL’s salary cap has barely increased for three years now, but teams haven’t slowed at dishing out lengthy contracts to other players. As a result, there’s not a lot of extra space around for players at the level of Heinen (or Evan Rodrigues) to make a decent pay day as a free agent. It’s very difficult for teams to move contracts or clear space, especially when so many have…