{"id":13435,"date":"2025-02-10T11:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13435"},"modified":"2025-02-10T11:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:24:11","slug":"where-will-blackhawks-ryan-donato-be-after-the-trade-deadline-next-season-3-scenarios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13435","title":{"rendered":"Where will Blackhawks\u2019 Ryan Donato be after the trade deadline, next season? 3 scenarios"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Feb<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s 4 Nations Face-Off couldn\u2019t come up at a worse time for the Chicago Blackhawks\u2019 Ryan Donato. When you\u2019re playing as well as he has been lately, you want to keep playing, not step away.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, he scored again in a shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. On Friday, he had the first four-point game of his career. He has produced eight goals and seven assists in his last 15 games. For the season, he\u2019s scored 19 goals, already surpassing his previous season-best 16 goals. In other words, Donato is playing arguably the best hockey of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to lose it so quickly, right?\u201d Donato said.<\/p>\n

Yet the 28-year-old Donato knows all too well that you take whatever rest you can get during an NHL season. Over the next week, Donato plans to balance some time away with his family and return to the ice a little sooner than the Blackhawks are asking him to.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at the same time, your body, it\u2019s at this time of year where things are starting to hurt and break down,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s for everybody, not just myself, around the league. I think you have to be smart, take the rest that you can. Whatever\u2019s lingering during the season, let come to rest a little bit and get it back to where it was. But at the same time, you go to make sure you\u2019re staying in shape, staying on top of it because you know two weeks is a long (time). You want to make sure that you\u2019re not falling behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from taking a break from his hot play over the break, the other downside to not having games is Donato won\u2019t have as much to distract him from what could happen to him over the month. There\u2019s a chance he could be dealt to another team before the trade deadline. There\u2019s a chance he could remain with the Blackhawks through the season. And if the latter happens, that could lead to Donato potentially re-signing with the Blackhawks or becoming an unrestricted free agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Donato said. \u201cTo say (I\u2019m prepared for anything), I guess in a way. I\u2019m not paying attention to anything else other than \u2026 it\u2019s not like I\u2019m expecting anything. I\u2019m just worried about myself and giving my teammates my all. That\u2019s all I can really afford to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donato\u2019s situation can play out in a number of ways. Let\u2019s examine them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Blackhawks could trade Donato<\/h2>\n

The Blackhawks were motivated to trade Taylor Hall. He was the player who would most likely draw interest at the deadline, and the Blackhawks wanted to capitalize on that so they could get a potential asset back and free a roster spot for one of their college prospects to likely take later in the season. The Blackhawks accomplished that.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks aren\u2019t as hellbent on trading Donato, based on everything I\u2019ve heard. They\u2019ll certainly listen to any team interested in Donato, but they\u2019re not looking to move him just to move him. It would have to really make sense for the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

What would<\/em> make sense? It would probably have to be a first- or second-round draft pick. While it seems unlikely a team would offer a first-rounder for Donato, weirder things have happened. With plenty of teams\u2019 scouts out these days leading up to the deadline, they\u2019ve had the chance to see Donato up close and it\u2019d be hard to ignore his play as of late. His overall production isn\u2019t far off from the players near the top of trade boards either. A second-round pick could be a possibility depending on what the rest of the market looks like.<\/p>\n

A third-round draft pick is probably a more realistic get for Donato, but the question becomes whether that\u2019s enough for the Blackhawks to part ways with him. For one, they don\u2019t really need another third-round pick; they have plenty of those. Plus, right now Donato is playing well individually, playing well with Connor Bedard and helping the Blackhawks play better as a team. He has potentially more value with the Blackhawks the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

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Blackhawks could at least keep Donato through the season<\/h2>\n

The Blackhawks have already played themselves out of any shot for the playoffs, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not playing for anything. Unlike the past few seasons, the focus isn\u2019t on how good of a draft pick they can get at the end of the year. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson would rather see progress from his team, especially the young players, than bottom out.<\/p>\n

No player\u2019s development is more important for the Blackhawks than Bedard\u2019s. And as of late, no linemate has had a more positive impact on Bedard than Donato. Bedard set up Donato for his goal on Saturday. Donato set up Bedard for a goal on Friday. The give-and-go type of plays the two have been making lately have been noticeable. For the season, the Blackhawks have outscored teams 11-8 in five-on-five play with Bedard and Donato on the ice. Bedard\u2019s 57.79 goals percentage with Donato is his highest with anyone he\u2019s played 60 minutes or more with this season.<\/p>\n

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9\u20e38\u20e3 on the power play\u203c\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/CnTwgtueKM<\/a><\/p>\n

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n