Ryan Donato had a career night for the Chicago Blackhawks during their rout of the Nashville Predators. Now, he should go have career nights with another team.

Look, there is nothing personally wrong with Donato. He is having an amazing season. When Connor Bedard was struggling to score goals at the beginning of the season, it was Donato who surprisingly filled the void.

Plus, Donato has been on a heater like no other recently.

Ryan Donato has 21 points in his last 26 games after erupting for a career-high four points in the Blackhawks' rout last night.

"He gets rewarded because of the work he puts in."

Story: https://t.co/m5MNo7a8LL

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) February 8, 2025

He has been wonderful this season, but he is also 28. This is not a player on the rise. This is a player having a career year.

It is just a matter of time before he reverts to a forward whose goal production usually hovers in the teens.

That is why the Hawks must pounce on his trade value being at its highest right now.

Yes, this is reversing course from thinking he should get a contract extension. That was before the front office made it known they actually want to clear out veterans to make way for young prospects making their way to the NHL.

The front office wants to make sure there is ice time for forward prospects such as Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene once they sign their entry-level contracts after their college seasons are over.

Making sure they get a taste of the NHL can go a long way in their development. Landon Slaggert believed his cup of coffee with the team helped his game grow immensely. He has been playing like a guy who should never go back to Rockford.

Also, this should be the final draft where the Blackhawks focus on continuing to collect core pieces of the next great Hawks team. Therefore, they should go into it with as many top-100 picks as possible.

Maybe Donato’s career season will not yield a third-round pick. However, he is considered the 16th-best available player on the trade market according to the Athletic (a subscription is required to access content linked).

The Athletic’s Scott Powers reported a couple of weeks back a third-round pick could be a possibility. However, the Hawks might have to retain some salary even though his cap hit is $2 million (a subscription is required to access content linked).

If the Blackhawks could get a fifth-round pick for Anthony Beauvillier in an offseason trade, then the Hawks should at least get a fourth-round choice. Although, you really want that third-round pick because that is where a team can still pick up core pieces.

Also, it does not make sense for Donato to sign an extension with the salary cap set to go up this offseason since he is a pending free agent. In addition, it does not make sense for the Hawks to give a veteran an extension based on a career year.

We all have our opinions of what the Blackhawks should do with Ryan Donato. The one opinion that matters most is Donato's. If he wants to go on a playoff run and test the open market coming off a career year with the cap going up, it's hard to fault him for that.

— Greg Boysen (@GregBoysen) February 8, 2025

The Hawks did that last season with Jason Dickinson, and he is back to being more of a defensive forward (although there is nothing wrong with that) than a center who was lighting the lamp at a career pace last season.

Therefore, get whatever draft pick compensation you can and appreciate what Donato did this season to make this club watchable on some nights.