There is less than a week before the NHL's trade deadline and the Chicago Blackhawks still have some more work to do.
The team now has three active goalies on the roster, a number of pending UFAs, and even more players who could still garner interest and be moved. Kyle Davidson has done a solid job so far, but the remaining piece that should fetch the Blackhawks the best return is Ryan Donato.
If he doesn't have a contract in the next few days, the Blackhawks have to trade the 28-year-old in the midst of a career year. Based on his cap hit and performance, he is going to be highly sought after and there have already been more than a handful of teams linked to him. The most surprising stat coming from Donato this season is the number of even-strength goals he has this season and which superstars and stars he's ahead of.
Donato has 18 even-strength goals on the season out of his 21 goals, and sits at 43 points in 58 games. Those 18 goals at even strength are more than players like Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Artemi Panarin, Jake Guentzel, Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, and Nico Hischier all have.
Coming into the season, Donato and any of those players aren't in the same conversation in any regard. With how most of the Blackhawks' roster has disappointed this season, Donato has been leaned on and played first line minutes a lot and has played on the top power play for most of the season.
If Donato is acquired by a playoff team, it's very likely that he won't be placed on the top power-play unit and won't be at the top of the lineup at 5-on-5. This means that his ability to produce wherever he's played at even strength is even more valuable and I think he should garner a second-round pick at the very least.
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