Marko Daňo’s NHL path has been a winding one, and Columbus is where it all started.
The Blue Jackets took the Austrian-born Slovak in the first round, 27th overall, at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He reached the league in 2014 and got off to a promising start, appearing in 35 games as a rookie.
Daňo scored 8 goals, finished with 21 points, and posted a plus-12. At that point, it looked like Columbus might have found a young forward who could stick.
That momentum didn’t last long. Before he could even begin his second NHL season, Daňo was moved on June 30, 2015.
Columbus sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that also included Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, and the Blue Jackets’ 4th-round pick. Coming back the other way were Brandon Saad, Michael Paliotta, and Alex Broadhurst.
Daňo’s run in Chicago was brief, producing 2 points in 13 games.
From there, the moves kept coming. Less than a year later, he landed with the Winnipeg Jets.
Over three seasons there, Daňo played 82 games, scored 10 goals, and recorded 22 points. Winnipeg waived him in October of 2018, Colorado claimed him, and then just over a month later the Avalanche placed him on waivers as well, allowing Winnipeg to claim him back.
The Jets eventually did not tender him an offer in 2019, and Daňo returned to Columbus on a one-year, two-way deal signed August 8th. He appeared in three games for the Blue Jackets that season and spent most of the year in Cleveland, where he played 46 games for the Monsters, scored 4 goals, and totaled 19 points.
His AHL résumé ended up being substantial. Daňo played 199 games in the league and collected 102 points. Across his time with the Springfield Falcons, Columbus’ AHL affiliate in 2014 and 2015, and with Cleveland, he scored 17 goals and finished with 44 points.
Daňo left for Europe in 2021 and has remained there ever since. He has played for HC Oceláři Třinec since 2021 and also represented Czechia in the Olympics and World Cup.
With 56 days left until opening night at NWA, Daňo stands as one of those players who seemed capable of more in Columbus. The Blue Jackets later flipped Brandon Saad, and Saad was eventually traded back to Chicago for Artemi Panarin. In the end, the original Daňo-to-Chicago deal worked out for Columbus.
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