Ryan Donato Stays, Petr Mrazek Moved as NHL Trade Deadline Passes

The NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, and Kyle Davidson did pretty well for himself. He may not have been as active as some wanted him to be, but he accomplished some rather difficult tasks without having to give up much.

Davidson got a jump on the trade deadline last Saturday by dealing Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers for a 2026 first-round pick and goaltender Spencer Knight. Only having to retain $2.5 million of Jones’ salary for the next five years was a huge win.

Ryan Donato Remains with the Blackhawks

The next biggest trade chip was forward Ryan Donato, who garnered a lot of interest on the trade market. As I suggested earlier this week, Davidson set the price high and didn’t budge. A contract extension is likely in the works. There is a lot to be set about continuity when building a culture. At some point, the revolving door of veterans has to stop.

Donato is a perfect example of putting in the work and getting rewarded. After the season, he was told that he needed to improve his skating, and he spent the summer working on getting better. The results speak for themselves. He’s got career highs in goals (23), assists (23), and points (46). He set these high marks while playing up and down the lineup.

While Donato gets power-play time, he’s not padding his stats on the man advantage. His 18 5v5 goals are tied for the fifth most in the NHL. He’s outscored stars like Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Jason Robertson, Jack Hughes, and Brayden Point at 5v5 this season.

In addition to what he brings off the ice, Donato is loved by his teammates. He’s a guy that shows up every day, does his job, and then shows up the next day with the same energy. After Wednesday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators, Pat Maroon said Donato should be signed and not traded. Connor Bedard expressed how much he wants Donato to stick around after Thursday’s practice.

“He’s been a stud this year,” he said. “Every game, he goes and is giving 110% and making a difference. He’s been great. Me and him are pretty close, and just his approach to the game and his professionalism, it’s great and that means a lot to leadership in our room and everything. Obviously, you want him to stay, but everything is a business.”

The Blackhawks have been preaching that they want to have the identity of being a team that is hard to play against. Nobody is harder to play against on this team than Donato. There is nothing wrong with rewarding him for his hard work and professionalism. Also, no matter what he receives in a potential contract extension, it will not prevent the Blackhawks from making any big moves this summer or any summer after that.

Petr Mrazek Returns to Detroit

Somehow, Davidson found a team willing to take on all of Petr Mrazek’s contract and give them an actual player in return. The Detroit Red Wings sent center Joe Veleno to Chicago for Mrazek and forward Craig Smith. You have to give him high marks for not giving up an asset to find a taker for the veteran goaltender. Mrazek played his first 166 NHL games for the Red Wings after they selected him in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.

Veleno, a first-round pick in 2018, is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $2.275 million cap hit. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound center has five goals and 10 points in 56 games this season. He will get more opportunity with the Blackhawks while providing them some much-needed help down the middle.

Just before the deadline passed, Davidson acquired forward Aku Räty, the rights to defenseman Victor Söderström, and Shea Weber’s contract from the Utah Hockey Club for a 2026 sixth-round pick. The jist of this trade is to use Weber’s $7.8 million salary to help reach the salary cap floor next season. He can also be placed on LTIR to save cap space if necessary.

It is hard to declare this trade deadline a win or a loss until we see how the offseason plays out. Davidson has set himself up to be a major player in free agency and on the trade market with a ton of cap space and assets in his arsenal.