The better that Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato plays, the more he raises his trade value — and the more he makes a case to stay with the Hawks beyond this season.
Donato exploded for a career-high four points Friday night at the United Center, powering the Hawks to a 6-2 blowout victory over the Predators in which they tied their season high for goals in a game.
Forwards Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen and defensemen Alex Vlasic and Seth Jones had multi-point nights as well as the Hawks (17-31-6) won for just the fifth time in their last 21 games.
“[I] see a lot of guys smiling walking out of here,” Nazar said afterward. “Guys are in a better mood and more happy. That’s what happens when we go out there and put up a lot of goals.”
Donato, a pending free agent, now leads the Hawks with 18 goals this season, having already exceeded his own career high. He has 21 points in his last 26 games.
Against the Predators, he set up power-play goals by Bedard and Jones with perfectly placed cross-ice passes. He also beat goalie Juuse Saros twice himself, sliding a backhander through Saros’ legs for the Hawks’ fourth goal and ripping a wrist shot past Saros to conclude a crazy shift for the Hawks’ sixth goal.
“He’s hotter than burnt toast,” Jones said. “He always has that work ethic, and that’s where his game really stems from. He gets rewarded because of the work he puts in.”
On one hand, Donato sets an excellent example for the Hawks’ young forwards. On the other hand, the Hawks are in position to sell high on a career journeyman. General manager Kyle Davidson will have to weigh both angles before the NHL trade deadline March 7.
Ryan Donato finds the back of the net shortly after a ridiculous sequence in the Nashville crease, 6-1 Chicago!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/AxayFPtsYl
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
Well-timed break
The NHL’s international break for the “4 Nations Face-Off” tournament comes at an ideal time in a less-than-ideal situation for Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson.
He’ll miss roughly four weeks because of the high ankle sprain he suffered Wednesday night against the Oilers — a shorter amount of time than feared when it initially looked as though he had injured his knee and not his ankle. He’ll be able to get through half of that estimated recovery period during the new tournament that begins next week in Montreal, and could return around the trade deadline.
“He impacts [the game] in such a big way, more than just points or score-sheet stats,” defenseman Connor Murphy said. “And [he’s] just a leader in general for us, so it sucks to see him go down.”
Bedard’s test
Sorensen recently spoke with Bedard about starting to match him up against opponents’ top lines, and that’s exactly what has happened the last two games. Bedard went head-to-head on most shifts against Oilers star Connor McDavid’s line Wednesday, then went head-to-head on some shifts against Predators star Filip Forsberg’s line Friday. He held his own defensively in both situations.
“We challenged Connor, and he wanted the challenge — he wanted to play against those guys,” Sorensen said. “That’s part of the learning curve. When you’re the No. 1 center, you have to play against other teams’ No. 1 centers. It was great.”
Bedard responded to the recent cyclone of discourse about his play with his 11th multi-point game of the season. That included a one-timer for his 16th goal. It was his 108th career NHL point in his 122nd career game, which moved him into third in NHL history in points by a teenager. He trails only Sidney Crosby, who racked up 222 points for the Penguins in his first two seasons, and Patrik Laine, who had 134 for the Jets.