The Chicago Blackhawks must right the ship after a chaotic NHL season in which nothing seemed to go their way in Windy City. Amid a dramatic search for the next head coach—the 38th in franchise history—Connor Bedard and the rest of the team might be close to learning bad news as one star is reportedly headed for the exit door.
The Blackhawks are still in their rebuilding days in the NHL, and far from being a true contender. However, fans in Chi-town remain hopeful about escaping the league’s basement. They will need an all hands on deck approach, though, and the team might be moving on from one of their best players during the 2024-25 season.
The coaching search seems to be approaching its final stops, with a strong candidate emerging as the frontrunner to replace Anders Sorensen behind the bench. However, hiring a new bench boss is only the first step in a long, arduous to-do list in Chicago.
The Blackhawks face a critical decision involving Ryan Donato, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and will draw interest from several franchises as the 29-year-old is coming off a 31-goal season with 62 total points.
Ryan Donato #8 of the Chicago Blackhawks arrives to the red carpet prior to the game against the Vegas Golden Knights at the United Center on October 21, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
“There’s still time for a deal with the Blackhawks to get done, but it feels 99.9% likely that Ryan Donato is hitting free agency,” according to recent reports from CHGO Blackhawks on X.
see also
NHL News: Connor Bedard’s Blackhawks have reportedly made final decision, not looking back on new coach decision
Implications
If Chicago decides to part ways with Donato, it will cast doubts on the front office as they could’ve traded him during the NHL trade deadline instead of watching him leave without receiving nothing in return.
However, if fans want to look at the glass half full in this situation, Donato’s exit could very well mean the Blackhawks are saving to make a big splash for a top talent in free agency—perhaps Mitch Marner.
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Where will Mitch Marner sign in free agency?
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“I think a team like Detroit, that’s it’s a little bit further ahead, or Montreal make a little bit more sense [for Marner], but star talent doesn’t really make it to free agency very often, it really never happens,” Shayna Goldman of The Athletic said. “I think it depends on what the bag is: if we’re talking $12M, $13M I’d say absolutely yes. If you’re going over that, you can start pausing a little bit.”
