The pick was acquired by San Jose in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Patrick Marleau on Feb. 24.
Donato scored 23 points (14 goals, nine assists) in 62 games this season and no points in two postseason games when the Wild were defeated in four games by the Vancouver Canucks in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. The 24-year-old forward signed a two-year, $3.8 million contract (average annual value $1.9 million) with the Wild on July 16, 2019, and can be a restricted free agent after next season.
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Donato averaged 10:38 of ice time this season (0:44 on the power play) and scored all 14 of his goals at even strength.
"I think it is frustrating, but I'm not the kind of guy to put the blame on anyone else but me," Donato said. "I know I created in the amount of ice time I received, but for me, I put everything on myself. I want to be a guy who can do it no matter what situation I'm put in. I did have a decent amount of goals for the amount of ice time I had, but I knew I could have more and I know I can have more. Seeing this potential opportunity makes me very excited."
A second-round pick (No. 56) by the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL Draft, Donato has scored 57 points (29 goals, 28 assists) in 130 regular-season games and no points in five postseason games. He was traded to Minnesota by the Boston for forward Charlie Coyle on Feb. 20, 2019.
The Wild have made four trades since they lost in the Qualifiers. They traded a conditional pick in the 2021 NHL Draft to the Penguins for forward Nick Bjugstad on Sept. 11. Six days later, center Eric Staal was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Marcus Johansson. On Monday, goalie
Devan Dubnyk
and a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft were traded to the Sharks for a fifth-round pick in 2022.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
