Some young players are frequently traded because they quickly wear out their welcome while others are just highly desired commodities. Dano belongs firmly in the latter camp.
Though the Austrian-born Dano switched organizations twice before his 22nd birthday, nobody would suggest the No. 27 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets ever became persona non grata with his teams.
Some young players are frequently traded because they quickly wear out their welcome while others are just highly desired commodities. Dano belongs firmly in the latter camp.
Though the Austrian-born Dano switched organizations twice before his 22nd birthday, nobody would suggest the No. 27 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets ever became persona non grata with his teams.
A slight 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, Dano's big left-handed shot, offensive creativity and willingness to battle anywhere on the ice prompted Columbus to use a first-round pick to draft him. Those skills also made him a valuable trade chip.
The son of two-time Slovakia Olympic hockey player Jozef Dano, a 19-year-old Marko Dano made his NHL debut on Oct. 9, 2014. In his second game, Dano registered his first NHL goal, assist and multipoint game while helping the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 win against the New York Rangers. Those would be the only points Dano scored in his first run in the NHL before being sent to Springfield of the American Hockey League.
But a different Dano returned to Columbus from the minors in February of 2015. Another one-goal, two-point effort against the Rangers in his fourth game after being recalled gave Dano the first scoring streak of his NHL career. Overall, he scored seven goals and 19 points in 27 games after his recall, including four goals and 14 points as Columbus went 13-1-1 in his final 15 appearances.
Despite the strong showing, Columbus included Dano in a June 30, 2015 trade to acquire the rights to Brandon Saad, a playoff star with the Chicago Blackhawks during their title runs in 2013 and 2015.
The trade made Dano a teammate of Marian Hossa, who was a teenager when he played with Marko's father on Slovakia's national team. That connection did not prove enough to help Dano shine with the defending champions. Dano was a surprise cut out of training camp and played in just 13 games with the Blackhawks before being sent to Winnipeg as part of a Feb. 25, 2016 deal for Andrew Ladd, a key cog from Chicago's 2010 championship team. After being held scoreless in his first five games with the Jets, Dano scored four goals and eight points over his final 16 games.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Traded to Chicago by Columbus with Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp and Columbus' 4th round pick (later traded to NY Islanders -- NY Islanders selected Anatoli Golyshev) in 2016 NHL Draft for Brandon Saad, Michael Paliotta and Alex Broadhurst, June 30, 2015.
- Traded to Winnipeg by Chicago with Chicago's 1st round pick (later traded to Philadelphia -- Philadelphia selected German Rubtsov) in 2016 NHL Draft for Andrew Ladd, Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison, February 25, 2016.
- Claimed on waivers by Colorado from Winnipeg, October 15, 2018.
- Claimed on waivers by Winnipeg from Colorado, November 23, 2018.
- Signed as a free agent by Winnipeg, November 5, 2020.