Blackhawks’ Top Trade Candidate Ryan Donato Linked to 6 Teams

Ryan Donato is getting a lot of attention as trades start to go down around the league and teams show interest in adding ahead of playoff runs. The name that has gotten the most attention on the Chicago Blackhawks is Ryan Donato and six teams have been linked to him already.

Since Donato is such a cheap and effective option, I don’t see teams dropping out of the running unless they acquire someone else in place of Donato. Instead, the longer the Blackhawks hold onto the versatile forward, the more teams may come into the mix.

Donato has played up and down the lineup with everybody on the team and in all three forward positions while ranking second on the Blackhawks in goals with 15 and third in the team in points with 30. The 28-year-old is averaging just 14:47 of ice time per game which ranks eighth among forwards on Chicago.

Donato was most recently linked to the Ottawa Senators due to their position in the standings, recent play, and injury to Nick Cousins, but the other five teams that are also rumored to be in the mix include the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes. He is a UFA after the season with a $2 million cap hit.

The Jets are serious contenders that could use some more depth options, especially with Adam Lowry and Morgan Barron currently injured. The production is spotty in the bottom-6 and Donato could even be of use on the second line.

The Kings’ scoring has gone absolutely dry. There are only two players who have scored more than four points in the last 10 games on the team. As Los Angeles is expected to make the playoffs again, the team has to do something in order to get by the Edmonton Oilers or the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Donato would be a start.

It is very clear that Toronto needs a better fourth line and the lineup starts to look very thin and lacking offense when a star or top-6 player goes out with an injury. As Donato can slot in anywhere and produce, this would be ideal for a team still trying to push deep into the playoffs. His low cap hit would work great for the Maple Leafs as well.

With a healthy Jacob Markstrom and defense, the Devils are very formidable and need to add nobody back there. Their forwards are a different story. The bottom-6 has provided five goals in the past 10 games and with Nico Hischier out, the lineup looks even more bare. A player like Donato could not only help now, but add a spark to a group that needs it and needs bottom-6 scoring.

Even with forwards like William Carrier, Jesper Fast, Tyson Jost, and Andrei Svechnikov out, the forward group for the Hurricanes still looks good. This may make them less of a threat to target Donato compared to the other five teams rumored to have shown interest. Injuries have gotten in the way of reaching the top in recent years and Carolina just made a blockbuster trade, so why not ensure the group is solidified and looks exactly how they want it for the playoffs with one more move before the deadline?

If the Blackhawks want to trade Donato, he’s as good as gone. With how much interest there is, I think the projected third round pick return is the worst they can do. At this point, the Blackhawks may be able to bring him back in free agency if they really want to if the team trades him instead of keeping him and re-signing him now.

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