There have been reports over the last couple of days that the Sharks had been looking to acquire Donato, so this deal doesn’t come as a surprise. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, a separate deal for Devan Dubnyk could also be finalized by the end of the day.
Donato is 24 years old and had 14 goals and 23 points in 62 games with the Wild this season. He has a year remaining on his contract at an AAV of $1.9 million and will become a restricted free agent next summer. The pick going back to Minnesota is Pittsburgh’s 2021 third-round pick that the Sharks acquired for Patrick Marleau at the trade deadline this season, according to LeBrun.
Wild and Sharks are expected to announce a Ryan Donato trade within the hour; San Jose getting Donato for a third-round pick in '21. Both teams also still working on a separate Devan Dubnyk deal which if completed would be announced later today.
While I was worried about what the Sharks may give up in a trade, I love this deal for the Sharks. In giving up only a third-round pick, essentially, San Jose swapped Patrick Marleau for Ryan Donato. That’s a big win for Doug Wilson.
Donato will be a great addition to the middle-six and there’s certainly a chance we could see him play wing in the top-six, if no other major forwards are added in the offseason. Considering he’s only 24 years old, he could be with the Sharks long-term and at least for next season, his AAV will be low enough for San Jose to work with.
This a great addition for the Sharks and we can bet that Donato will be given a great opportunity in San Jose and significantly more ice time than the 10:38 per game he averaged with the Wild this year. We’ll have to see what happens with Devan Dubnyk but this Donato trade is a great move for the Sharks.
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