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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Of all the things Ryan Donato has accomplished this season — the career-high 23 goals, the career-high 48 points, reaching 100 career goals — perhaps none was as impressive as what he did Monday night in Denver. Hockey blooper reels are littered with players who’ve lost skate blades and have to get towed, pushed or dragged back to the bench by a teammate or official, or even crawl on their hands and knees themselves.
For a player, it’s utterly helpless. For the fans, it’s utterly hilarious. But after losing a skate blade at Ball Arena, Donato managed to stay upright and hop on one foot all the way across the ice and back to the bench.
It was a rather remarkable feat — foot? — of athleticism. Advertisement Might have had something to do with the fact it was his third time losing a blade in two games. “I’ve had enough time to practice,” Donato said with a laugh, shaking his head.
“I found out the hard way that the ref’s not allowed to push you anymore. The first time, I was looking at the ref like, ‘Can you give me a push?’ He was like, ‘Nah.’ I was kind of shocked I could make it all the way back myself.
” Donato chalked up the equipment malfunction to some faulty steel because only one of the instances saw the entire blade come loose; the blade broke in half the other times. “It wasn’t anything our staff could have done differently,” he said. “It was just circumstance.
Just funny that you might not break steel three times in a season and I did it three times in two games.” What the hell is going on with Ryan Donato's skate blade always falling off? Anders Sörensen: "That’s a great question. That’s three times in the last two games? I don’t know.
That’s not a me question." — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 11, 2025 It’s one of the few things that has gone wrong for Donato this season. The Blackhawks forward is having a dream walk year, lighting it up in the final year of his contract — so much so that he became one of the most talked-about players in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson ended up not dealing Donato as none of his colleagues knocked his socks off with an offer. And Donato, speaking Wednesday for the first time since the deadline, sounded relieved. Sure, he could be in a heated playoff push right now on some other team instead of playing in a battle for 31st place with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
But after playing for five teams over the first eight seasons of his career (including those Sharks), Donato’s looking for stability as much as he’s looking to cash in. When he does start talking about his next contract — whether it’s with Davidson in the near future or on the open market come July 1 — term will matter just as much as dollars. Advertisement And he’d love to have that term with the Blackhawks.
“I’ve loved it in Chicago, my wife loves it in Chicago,” he said. “We have a family here. So it’s definitely something you try to play for.
You try to play for stability and certainty in life.” Donato, who frequently discusses his faith and the blessings in his life, was quick to point out how fortunate he’s been to have a job in the NHL since breaking into the league with the Boston Bruins late in the 2017-18 season. But it’s still been tough to move around so often.
And now, with a 5-month-old daughter at home — Charlie’s starting to crawl already, and the smiles and giggles are coming fast and furious — the prospect of picking up and starting over yet again in yet another city is a daunting one. “It’s one of the hidden parts of the game that goes unappreciated,” he said. “People moving their families from one city to another.
Sometimes every year, sometimes at the deadline. These things are out of your control. It’s definitely a hard part of the business.
” You’d never know it by his play — Donato had eight goals and nine assists in the 11 games leading up to the deadline — but the stress of an uncertain future was weighing heavily on the 28-year-old. He joked that his wife, Bradley, couldn’t stress too much about a trade because she was too busy stressing about caring for a newborn at home. But the couple certainly felt the tension rise as Donato’s profile around the league did the same.
“It’s unavoidable, right?” he said. “You have family reaching out, friends reaching out, wanting to know what’s going on. And sometimes you don’t even know what’s going on.
It’s a part of the business, and it’s every year. After a couple seasons, you get used to it. It doesn’t get easier, but it’s something you manage and deal with.
Definitely nice to have that behind us.” Advertisement Blackhawks interim head coach Anders Sörensen said Donato handled the trade talk “really well,” and that if it was weighing on him, nobody could tell at the rink. Has he noticed a difference now that the deadline’s passed? “I haven’t noticed much,” Sörensen said.
“He’s pretty intense as it is. He’s pretty emotionally invested in all the games.” That emotional investment, night in and night out, is what separates Donato from a lot of players.
There are no off nights, no lackluster efforts. He plays like his hair’s on fire no matter what. “He gives it his all every night,” Connor Bedard said.
“Seeing what he’s done this year, it’s been awesome. And he’s so important to our group, so obviously we’re really excited that he ended up staying.” The question is, for how long? He won’t be traded, but his future remains unsettled.
His gaudy numbers this season should theoretically lead to a big contract this summer, but considering how soft the trade market seemed to be for him — in a seller’s market, no less — that’s hardly a guarantee. Once the league’s GMs and scouts form an opinion on a player, it can be tough to change their minds. Davidson hasn’t tipped his hand yet.
Donato’s age doesn’t really fit the Blackhawks’ timeline, but his relentless style of play and the example he sets certainly do. He said he has no real sense of what to expect from the Blackhawks or anyone else this summer, only that he’s set himself up as best as he can with a career season. So though he avoided being traded, his future remains very much up in the air.
Nothing new for Donato. “If I was worried about what could have been my whole career, I could have been even more stressed than I am now — and I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said with a chuckle. “This time, I’m just worrying about doing what I can do to help the team win.
That’s worked out for me so far.” (Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images).
