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With the NHL's trade deadline still nearly a month away, we've already seen a few major deals. The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche swapped stars in Mikko Rantanen and Martin Necas, while the New York Rangers finally acquired J.T. Miller. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks acquired Marcus Pettersson, and the Dallas Stars added pending free agent Mikael Granlund.
As a result, the pool of players expected to be available at the deadline is beginning to thin. But one smaller name who remains a likely candidate to be dealt is Ryan Donato.
Donato signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2023, marking his fifth NHL team. He had a respectable but unspectacular first year in Chicago in 2023-24, managing 30 points in 78 games.
This year, however, Donato has taken a significant step forward. With 19 goals and 37 points in 53 games, he's leading the Blackhawks in goals and scoring at an 82-game pace of 57 points. Chicago is well outside the playoff race again and with Donato set to become a free agent this offseason, he's a candidate to be dealt. Donato's value will likely never be higher and given the forward is already 28 years old, he likely won't be part of Chicago's long-term plans.
So with that in mind, let's take a look at where Donato could land if the Blackhawks deal him.
Colorado Avalanche
The top of Colorado's forward group is already top-notch. Nathan MacKinnon, Necas, Jonathan Drouin and Artturi Lehkonen are capable of providing consistent offense. Meanwhile, Valeri Nichushkin will provide a big boost once he returns to the lineup. However, Casey Mittelstadt has struggled a bit, and the team's depth scoring is still lacking.
With the Avalanche potentially looking to add to their forward group, Donato could provide another middle-six option. He's also one of the players Colorado could actually afford, given their lack of draft picks and prospects. The Avalanche have two second-round picks this year, so they could include one as part of a return.
The Avalanche have enough pieces in place that Donato wouldn't be counted on to do too much, but he could still add a bit more secondary scoring.
Ottawa Senators
There are a couple of reasons why Donato makes sense for the Ottawa Senators. First, a playoff appearance is still uncertain for the team, so they won't be looking to give up big assets in a trade. While Donato is having a breakout year, he'd still be one of the cheaper middle-six options available at the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Senators really don't have much cap space remaining, making Donato's low cap hit a huge benefit. If the Blackhawks were to retain half of Donato's salary, Ottawa could acquire him at a $1 million cap hit.
The Senators are fairly strong at the top of the forward group. Plus, with Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris and Shane Pinto playing down the middle in the top-nine, Ottawa is set at center when the trio is healthy.
However, the team could use help on the wing. David Perron hasn't been overly impactful when healthy, and so the team arguably only has three legitimate top-six wingers. As a result, Donato could be a good trade deadline addition.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Similar to the Avalanche, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a well-established top of the forward group. However, their depth falls off from there, and the Lightning haven't been able to count on their bottom-six for much offense at all.
Donato could be used down the middle, which would allow Nick Paul to play on the wing in the top-six. On the flip side, Donato could instead play on the wing of the second or third line. In either scenario, he'd be a big boost for the team's top-nine.
The Lightning are set on still trying to contend, so we can expect them to make a deadline addition. With a lack of trade assets at their disposal, Donato is a player the team could potentially afford.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are yet again looking to finally make a deep playoff run, and are reportedly in the market for a center.
Again though, there aren't a ton of options available. Both Miller and Granlund already found new homes, and Donato could be a relatively cheap addition. Toronto still heavily relies on their top-four forwards for most of their scoring, but remain thin in the bottom-six. With two high-end centers above him in Auston Matthews and John Tavares, Donato would only need to provide secondary offense.
The question is whether Donato would really be enough of a difference-maker. There's an argument to be made that Donato may not be much more impactful than simply using Max Domi as a third-line center.
Still, the Maple Leafs don't have a ton of 2025 draft capital, or cap space. With Donato as one of the cheaper options likely to be available, Toronto could be a possible landing spot.
