Boston Bruins: Should we be gutted about the deal Ryan Donato signed?

The Boston Bruins traded away Ryan Donato to the Minnesota Wild last trade Deadline. His new deal with them is cheap for the next two years; should we be gutted?

This debate may never end; the Boston Bruins traded away Ryan Donato last year and recieved Charlie Coyle in return. On the surface there could easily have been a lot of issues with the deal. Donato was the up-and-comer and four years younger; in general, it felt like it could be something that bit the Bruins long-term.

That wasn’t the case as Charlie Coyle was among the key guys that helped drag the Boston Bruins all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Massachusetts-born forward added versatility to the line-up and vitally improved upon his eventual settling into the line-up.

Ryan Donato meanwhile scored 16 points in 22 games with his new team, having only managed 9 in 34 games with the Boston Bruins last campaign. Safe to say, the swap worked out well; both players took to their new environments likes ducks to water.

More from Editorials

• Pavel Zacha’s veteran status leading to bigger role in 2023-24
• The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
• Why the Bruins should wait to name a captain until after the season
• 3 players the Bruins can, 3 players could trade, 3 players they shouldn’t trade
• It’s time to offer Jake DeBrusk a contract extension

However, the Boston Bruins may well be feeling a little gutted now with the Minnesota Wild announcing a new two-year deal for Donato at a cut-price $1.9 million per season.

When you consider we’re locked to paying Danton Heinen $2.8 million per season for the same term, you can make a strong argument that the Donato deal, long-term, looks a lot nicer to the Minnesota team.

Maybe though there is bias to this argument and we’re remembering Donato purely for the potential that was there. We watched him dominate at Harvard University and properly show up for Team USA at the Olympic Games, but in all honesty, he never quite showed the same level in the NHL.

There’s a chance that he doesn’t quite ever match those heights again and the Boston Bruins have actually made a wise move, what with the way Coyle helped last year; it could be that, much as General Manager Don Sweeney did, it’s time to move on.

Obviously it’s a salary cap constrained world out there and the Bruins would love to have a deal as cheap as this one for a player with as much potential as Donato, but that’s unfortunately not the case. We’re going to have to rely on the guys already in the system to continue to produce above their pay scales.

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak certainly have been doing so when you consider the cost of guys like Artemi Panarin and Kevin Hayes this summer. All in all, as much as it’s gutting to see our former prospect sign a very team-friendly deal, we think it’s for the best that we have Coyle, at least for one more season, instead.