The Edmonton Oilers should not trade for 20 goal forward on Chicago Blackhawks
The Edmonton Oilers have been linked to a trade to acquire Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato, but there's little reason to believe he would be a good fit on the Oilers roster.
The Oilers have also been linked to Blackhawks defenceman Connor Murphy in addition to Donato, making a possibility for a larger trade to occur.
Edmonton Oilers shouldn't target Ryan Donato in trade deadline deal
Ryan Donato is a 28 year old left shot centreman that's having a career year playing up to 20:00 of ice time some nights. In 53 games, Donato's set career highs with 19 goals and 37 points, likely becoming a 20 goal scorer for the first time this year.
He's a versatile player that can also play wing and the penalty kill, which along with his scoring makes him look like an attractive target - but the Oilers simply have no roster fit for him. It especially wouldn't be worth it for him to play 4th line minutes.
Is Ryan Donato such a massive upgrade over a whatever? Kasperi Kapanen? For that role that you need what the Oilers currently have, how much different is Ryan Donato?
The Edmonton Oilers have 3 major internal pieces that cousins be used in a playoff run this season in Evander Kane, Matthew Savoie, and Noah Philp.
It's hard enough to insert just one new player into the lineup without taking out a seasoned veteran, and adding at least Kane into the conversation in the playoffs - two regular players would need to come out, likely from the fourth line.
Kasperi Kapanen is the Oilers next forward that could conceivably come out of the lineup, but the team likes the element of speed and forechecking he brings in the bottom six. Replacing key penalty killers like Connor Brown or Mattias Janmark wouldn't make much sense, either.
Not only that, but it's not like Donato brings a new element to the Oilers bottom six. Sure, he's a speedy versatile and reliable bottom six player, but he's not likely to bring the physicality the Oilers may need down in the lineup.
When Evander Kane returns, adding another forward to the playoff lineup begins to look nearly impossible. There's simply no room on the roster for a player like Donato, and the Oilers would be better off to spend the assets elsewhere.
