Right now, all of the trade talk around the Blackhawks is focused on Ryan Donato — and rightfully so. He’s having a career year with 19 goals, has a lovely $2M cap hit in a walk year and is a great, energy, character player. Donato is the kind of guy contenders overpay for at the deadline every year.

Whether the Blackhawks move him or not is going to be an ongoing conversation until he’s either traded, extended or held onto thru the March 7 deadline. Scott Powers did a nice job of breaking down the options this week for The Athletic.

I’ve heard and read some conjecture that the Blackhawks will only move Donato before the deadline. I do not believe that will be the case this year.

There’s a reason Donato isn’t the only Blackhawks player who’s been mentioned in trade rumors. There are guys who were brought here on one-year deals who likely plan on playing elsewhere after the deadline. And there are some guys with a little (maybe a lot) of term on their contracts who might be intriguing to other teams right now as well.

Here are some Blackhawks players who might be intriguing to watch between now and the deadline.

Seth Jones

After his dumpster fire performance against Calgary, Jones has been very good. He’s produced 26 points in 38 games, which is a terrific number for a right-shot defenseman who will play this entire season as a 30-year-old. He eats big minutes and has contributed on both special teams units.

Jones has a $9.5M cap hit thru the 2029-30 season. That’s the issue here. He’s played well enough that, with the increasing cap ceiling, that number isn’t crazy for a team to consider adding beyond this season. And the thought that the Blackhawks would have to eat up to half of his cap number for the term is likely outdated based on his play recently and the cap going up.

If Jones, who owns a no-move clause, were to want out and the Blackhawks asked him about a deal, it would be intriguing to see what the total package wound up being. It feels like a summer trade would be most likely if this were to become a reality, but it isn’t crazy to think someone might make the Blackhawks the right offer before the deadline.

But, again, Jones has a no-move clause and his $9.5M cap hit are going to be significant obstacles.

Connor Murphy

Murphy, who turns 32 at the end of March, is having a very good season on the blue line. His 13 points are the most he’s had in a season since he had 15 during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season (15). He’s worked with young defensemen and skated incredibly well with Alex Vlasic. He’s a physical leader who can help kill penalties and eat minutes on the right side of the blue line.

The questions with Murphy are two — and they’re significant. Can he stay healthy? And, with one more year on his contract at a $4.4M cap hit, what is the appetite of either the receiving team to take that number (with the cap going up big time next year) or the Blackhawks to retain beyond the rest of this season. Chicago has retained for multiple years before (Jake McCabe) so it would depend on the return.

Ilya Mikheyev

Yeah, this one is probably an out-of-the-blue name to include in a trade rumor piece, but there’s a reason I’m putting him in here this high on our list. While discussing the Blackhawks’ options ahead of the deadline with a source recently, they asked my thoughts on whether or not the Blackhawks would consider retaining salary on Mikheyev. My eyebrows bounced like The Rock at Smackdown when I read the text.

Mikheyev, 30, was acquired this summer in a salary dump trade from the Canucks (thanks, again). He has one more year on his contract with the Blackhawks responsible for a $4,037,500 cap hit (Vancouver retained 15 percent of his cap in the trade — and included a second-round pick in 2027 for a fourth-round pick in 2027).

The scouting report on Mikheyev when the Blackhawks got him was that he has elite speed and is a good defensive forward. He scored 21 goals for Toronto three years ago but a knee injury cut his 2022-23 season short when he had 13 goals in 46 games; there’s some offense in there, too. He disappointed the Canucks as he worked back from the injury last year, making him a trade chip. He has 10 goals in 53 games and has moved up and down the Blackhawks’ lineup, but has excelled in a third-line and penalty killing role.

While I’m not sure the Blackhawks would eat money thru next year here, if there’s a player whose value to a contending team as a PK guy with elite wheels it might be there for him at a $2-3M number. And grabbing an additional asset on a trade that’s already a win would be tremendous.

Craig Smith

Smith, 35, is the gritty fourth-line forward that a contending team grabs for next to nothing at the deadline. If his back is right and he can contribute the way he did earlier this season, Smith might be packaged to make something interesting happen. He’s appeared in 83 postseason games in his career and has had a nice offensive season this year.

Alec Martinez

Martinez, 37, is a fierce competitor with three Stanley Cup rings at home from tremendous postseason performances in LA and Vegas. Those types of players have value for a contender at the deadline — especially on a one-year deal. Health has been an issue for him this year, so don’t expect a significant return if he is dealt before the deadline. That is, unless he’s packaged with other assets. I will note that he has said he isn’t sprinting out the door… but he’s 37 in a rental situation.

Pat Maroon

Maroon, who turns 37 in April, is a fierce competitor with three Stanley Cup rings at home from tremendous postseason performances in St. Louis and Tampa. Yeah, that’s cut and paste from Martinez and the same things are true here. He’s got great hands and has been a tremendous teammate for the young Blackhawks. Jeff Marek at Daily Faceoff linked Maroon to the Lightning and Panthers recently; having seen how Maroon enjoyed the company of the Lightning after their recent game in Chicago, the fit is pretty clear there.

Lukas Reichel

This one is a wild card. Reichel, who turns 23 in May, has tied his career-high of 16 points this season. But that isn’t quite where most people expected his offense to be at this point. The former first-round pick signed a two-year deal that has a modest $1.2M cap hit attached thru next season.

His speed is obvious. The skill shows in flashes. And he’s done a nice job as a center on the fourth line with Smith and Maroon this season. But as the Blackhawks begin integrating more of the new front office’s picks — Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene are likely when their college seasons end — the question is how/where/if Reichel fits into the long-term plan.

Keep in mind part of the rationale in some of the trades the Blackhawks could make before the deadline is to bring back assets. They also could be as much to clear roster space for the next wave of prospects. You can add Nick Lardis, Martin Misiak, Dominic James and Aidan Thompson to Moore and Greene as guys likely headed to Rockford to start next season and the Blackhawks could want to see more of Colton Dach and maybe Samuel Savoie at the NHL level before the end of this season.

When we look at the names above and whether the assets the Blackhawks get get back are worth the deal, Reichel becomes a fascinating potential sweetener on trade proposals.