Ritchie, a 24-year-old forward, has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) and 78 penalty minutes in 41 games this season.
"It was an area that we felt we needed to address from some interior ice play, size and strength, net-front play, contested puck battles, things we feel that Nick will bring to the table for us," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said of Ritchie (6-foot-2, 230 pounds). "He's done it in Anaheim and we think that he'll address some of those needs for us moving forward."
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Selected by Anaheim in the first round (No. 10) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Ritchie has 109 points (43 goals, 66 assists) in 287 regular-season games and four goals in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"That's what I do," Ritchie said. "I drive to the net and win puck battles, and hopefully can bring in a few wins down and around the net. Hopefully I can help the team here, and I'm going to take pride in playing that big game."
Ritchie's brother, Brett Ritchie, is a forward for Providence, the Bruins' American Hockey League affiliate, and has played 27 games for Boston this season.
Asked when he last played a team with his brother, Nick Ritchie said, "I don't know if we ever were because of the age difference. He's two years older. It kind of never fit that. We were in other sports like lacrosse, but not in hockey. So it's cool to be a part of the same team as of right now."
Heinen has 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 58 games. The 24-year-old forward has 103 points (34 goals, 69 assists) in 220 regular-season games.
Selected by Boston in the fourth round (No. 116) of the 2014 draft, Heinen has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 33 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 77 games last season and helped the Bruins reach the Stanley Cup Final.
"You take away a player [in] Danton who's come along and grown with this group, that's impactful," Sweeney said. " … We're just trying to balance winning right now and doing the best we can for our hockey club, and keeping obviously an eye on the future and not jeopardizing that or compromising that. But you know you're going to at this time of the year."
Boston leads the Tampa Bay Lightning by five points for first in the Atlantic Division.
NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
