The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t waste much time after the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Florida Panthers to get to work on their offseason moves. The re-signed one of their top players from the 2024-25 season, made a trade with the Seattle Kraken, and are working on a buyout. Plus, two Blackhawks’ legends make the news on Friday. Let’s get to it.
Donato Re-Signed
An important order of business this offseason was coming to terms with forward Ryan Donato. The unrestricted free agent had a career 2024-25 season, posting 31 goals and 63 points for the Blackhawks. If the Blackhawks weren’t going to re-sign him, they would’ve needed to replace his scoring and production with another pick-up. But the two parties announced a deal on Wednesday (June 18).
FOUR MORE YEARS OF RYAN DONATO‼️
📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/dmJ0ENjlc0 pic.twitter.com/cScsQdCZJo
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 18, 2025
The 29-year-old was deployed often with Connor Bedard on the top line, and the two built some good chemistry. But it didn’t really matter where Donato was deployed, he could always be counted on to work his butt off winning puck battles, tilting the ice in the Blackhawks’ direction and giving it all he had every shift.
I’m sure Donato’s versatility and the fact that he’s a known entity was reason for the Blackhawks to give him one more year of term than their original offer at the trade deadline. Donato could’ve gotten more on the open market, but he wanted to stay in Chicago. He and his wife had their first baby (a girl) last September, and he wants some stability. Now he has it.
Related – Blackhawks Extending Ryan Donato Was the Smart Move
Donato will also be a perfect mentor, both on and off the ice, for the all the young players on the Blackhawks who are just getting their feet wet in the NHL. Granted, we might see some regression in Donato’s production next season. Replicating last season’s stats might be a tall task. But Donato offers so much more than just scoring. If nothing else, he’ll be a solid middle-six player for the Blackhawks this season and beyond.
Toews Commits to Winnipeg
In big news on Friday (June 20), it was announced that Blackhawks’ legend and former captain Jonathan Toews will make a return to the NHL after two full seasons off the ice. He announced his comeback intentions in late May, and his hometown of Winnipeg was always considered a desired destination. It turns out that came to fruition, the 37-year-old will play for the Winnipeg Jets in the 2025-26 season.
Home is where the heart is 🏠 pic.twitter.com/T0LfyqkVPD
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) June 20, 2025
Toews can’t officically sign with the Jets until the first day of free agency on July 1, but all the details have already been released. I was intrigued what Toews’ contract would look like, and his $2 million cap hit for one year makes sense. He has some lucrative bonuses though. I wonder how much of that $5 million he will actually earn?
The #NHLJets will sign Toews on July 1 to $2M Cap Hit & $7M AAV deal
Base $2M
Perf Bonuses total $5M:
-$2.75M for various GP thresholds
-$1.25M playoff bonuses
-$1M winning the cupRep’d by Pat Brisson @CAAHockey https://t.co/9XCxKDRt8c
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) June 20, 2025
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Toews will have for the Jets. We all know he’s dealt with a plethora of health issues that have wreaked havoc on his body. His age and amount of time missed definitely doesn’t work to his advantage. Does he play in a fourth line center role, or farther up in the lineup? Will his presence block a prospect from getting ice time? Nobody wants to become a liability on a team that took a chance on him.
Related – Jets’ Toews Signing Comes With Many Question Marks & Potential Complications
Well, if anyone can do this, Toews can! I’m sure we’re all hoping for a happy ending here, where Toews can end his career on a high note and on his terms. Best of luck to Captain Serious!
Kane Announces Event in Chicago
Another Blackhawks’ legend, Patrick Kane, picked a bad day to make an announcement. Unfortunately, it was kind of lost in the shuffle of the big Toews’ news. I wonder if Kane texted Toews and gave him hard time about it?! Nonetheless, here are the details for the Kane event.
Chicago! I’m coming back to see you – 8/8 tickets are available now.
🖊️ Autograph signinghttps://t.co/waSkecIGJE
🎤 Q&A + Hockey Talk on stagehttps://t.co/7AIjpYW5R8
Let’s make it a night to remember 🏒 Proud to have a portion of proceeds supporting the next generation of…
— Patrick Kane (@88PKane) June 20, 2025
On Aug. 8, Kane will be at the Chicago Sports Museum for an autograph signing from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. He will then host a VIP reception for 50 exclusive guests at 5:30 p.m. at Morgan Manufacturing in Chicago. An Emcee-hosted evening with Kane will be from 6:30 – 10:00 p.m., with him discussing Blackhawks’ special games, memories and highlights.
Tickets will be pricey for this special occasion, but a portion of the proceeds will go to 1616.org, a charity focused on the mental, physical and social wellbeing experience for youth hockey players.
A great cause and a great day! Ticket information can be accessed in the tweet above.
Burakowsky Joins the Blackhawks
Now let’s move on to some trade news. On Saturday (Jun. 21) the Blackhawks announced they acquired 30-year-old left winger Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for 25-year-old depth forward Joe Veleno.
🔔 Saturday morning trade
📰https://t.co/AbwI3XDkg5 pic.twitter.com/o5hDTSs7Au
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 21, 2025
Burakovsky has two years left on his contract with a $5.5 million annual cap hit. Veleno has a $2.275 cap hit just for the rest of the 2025-26 season. So, why are the Blackhawks committing more money and term for a 30-year-old versus a 25-year-old? Well, this will help them get to the cap floor, for one. And they should be getting a better player in Burakovsky.
Its true Burakovsky’s stats are better than Veleno’s from last season; he posted 10 goals and 37 points in 79 games to Veleno’s eight goals and 17 points in 74 games (playing with the Detroit Red Wings most of the season and coming to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline).
Related – Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Andre Burakovsky from Kraken for Joe Veleno
But Burakovsky also didn’t fare so well the previous season with the Kraken, contributing only seven goals and 16 points while dealing with injuries and only playing in 49 games. Considering Veleno was mostly a fourth line player in his time with the Blackhawks, I was curious how Burakovsky was deployed with the Kraken. I reached out to my colleague Jess Amato, who covers the Kraken for The Hockey Writers, to get some input.
Burakovsky hopped into the top-six for a little while Jordan Eberle was out with his injury, but mostly he played on the third line.
All right, so an upgrade from Veleno, for sure, with more potential to play up or down in the lineup. Plus, the Austrian native is known for his skating and shooting, so he should fit right into the identity and culture the Blackhawks are trying to build. He also adds some size, at 6-foot-3, 203-pounds.
This acquisition reminds me of the Ilya Mikheyev pick-up from last offseason; a middle-six player coming off injury that could benefit from a change of scenery. If you recall, Mikheyev was fourth on the team with 20 goals last season, and he also impressed as a solid two-way player.
Fun fact! Burakovsky, Mikheyev and Tyler Bertuzzi are all 30 years old, and Jason Dickinson will be 30 this July. We’re going to have to keep an eye out for the “all 30 line”!
Brodie Being Bought Out
Finally, the Blackhawks put veteran defenseman T.J. Brodie on unconditional waivers for purposes of a buyout on Saturday.
The #Blackhawks put TJ Brodie on waivers to buyout the remaining 1 year 3.75M of his contract.
Buyout cap hit:
Year 1 $3.23M
Year 2 $258Khttps://t.co/CbuusIOvlq pic.twitter.com/6hDzJVyQhQ— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) June 21, 2025
This was an expected move, as the 35-year-old veteran didn’t work out after being acquired by the Blackhawks last offseason. Brodie was brought on for experience and depth on the blue line, but he just didn’t have much to offer when he did play. It became clear that the younger defensemen were all outplaying him, and Brodie was scratched for the last 22 games of the season. In 54 total games played, the Chatham, Ontario native only contributed two goals and 10 points and was a minus-18 in plus/minus rating, the lowest of all defensemen.
Assuming the Blackhawks don’t pick up another veteran defenseman this offseason (which they very well could), the team will be going very young on the blueline. Connor Murphy (32 years old) will be the only true veteran, with Alex Vlasic (24), Taige Harding (23) Nolan Allan (22), Ethan Del Mastro (22), Sam Rinzel (20), Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov (19) all in the mix to mix either in Chicago or with the Rockford IceHogs.
There’s also Louis Crevier (24) and Wyatt Kaiser (22) who are restricted free agents. It’s unclear whether they will be re-signed, but with this plethora of defensive prospects I would expect a few more trades or transactions before it’s all said and done.
Related – Thoughts on the Blackhawks’ Top Options With the 3rd Overall Pick
Never a dull moment for the Blackhawks! Keep it here at The Hockey Writers for all the latest news, analysis and updates. The 2025 NHL Draft is next weekend (June 27 and 28) and the free agency period opens on July 1.
