Concussions force former fourth-rounder to retire from NHL

Concussions have been a challenge throughout Joonas Donskoi’s career to the point where he has decided to call it a career.  The 31-year-old announced on his Instagram account that he is retiring, calling it the best decision for his well-being and future.

Donskoi was a fourth-round pick by Florida back in 2010 (99th overall), but ultimately didn’t sign with the Panthers.  He wound up being a bit of a late bloomer playing professionally in his native Finland.  It wasn’t until the 2013-14 campaign that he made an impact offensively and he followed that up a year later by notching 49 points in 58 regular season games with Karpat, collecting 22 more in 18 playoff contests before ending with eight points in as many games at the Worlds.

That helped Donskoi earn an entry-level deal from San Jose in 2015 and he landed a regular spot in the lineup that fall.  He had a strong rookie season too, picking up 11 goals and 25 assists in 76 games, a point total that wound up being his best.  Donskoi also added a dozen points in 24 playoff games for the San Jose Sharks that season as they made it to the Stanley Cup Final.  He spent four seasons with San Jose before signing a four-year, $15.6M contract with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019.

Donskoi had two productive seasons with Colorado, posting campaigns of 16 and 17 goals, his two best years in the NHL on that front.  He also was a capable secondary scorer in the playoffs for them, picking up 11 points in 19 contests.

That got him on the radar for Seattle in the Expansion Draft as the Kraken made Donskoi their selection from the Avs.  Unfortunately, he struggled in 2021-22, scoring just twice in 75 games, although he did pick up 20 assists at least.  He then missed all of last season with the concussion which ultimately ended his playing days.

Donskoi wound up with 208 points in 474 games over seven NHL seasons.  Considering he had to play his way into an entry-level deal at the age of 23 after going unsigned by the team that drafted him, that’s a pretty solid showing that unfortunately came to an earlier end than he certainly would have preferred.