As the NHL trade deadline creeps closer, the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves at a familiar crossroads: win now, or plan for later. General manager Brad Treliving is expected to be active ahead of the deadline, but the conversation is already starting to shift toward what comes after that - namely, free agency and longer-term roster construction.
One name that’s started to surface in those discussions? Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh. And if you haven’t been paying attention to what Raddysh is doing this season, it’s time to catch up.
Darren Raddysh: Late Bloomer, Big Impact
At 29 years old, Raddysh is in the middle of a breakout season that few saw coming. After going undrafted and grinding it out in the AHL with stops in Rockford, Hartford, and Syracuse, he’s finally found his groove in the NHL. His journey hasn’t been linear - 339 games in the minors will do that - but the payoff this season has been remarkable.
Raddysh has already blown past his previous bests, putting up 17 goals and 52 points in just 49 games. That’s not just solid for a defenseman - that’s elite.
He’s on pace for 80 points and sits sixth among all NHL defensemen in scoring. He’s also firing the puck at a high clip, ranking 10th in shots among blueliners.
It’s not just quantity either; Raddysh has a cannon from the point, and he’s using it.
He’s stepped into a top-pairing role for Tampa Bay, especially early in the season when Victor Hedman missed time, and he hasn’t looked out of place. In fact, he’s thrived.
Among defensemen with at least 600 five-on-five minutes this year, Raddysh ranks 13th in goals-for percentage (60.87%), ninth in scoring chances-for percentage (57.05%), and 13th in high-danger goals-for percentage (62.86%). Translation: when he’s on the ice, good things are happening for the Lightning.
And it’s not just the raw numbers. His chemistry with defense partner JJ Moser has been off the charts.
In over 420 minutes together, the pair has posted an eye-popping 87% goal share and a .975 on-ice save percentage. That’s not sustainable forever, but it does speak to how dominant they’ve been in their minutes.
A Tempting Target - But a Risky One
All of this production is going to earn Raddysh a serious payday - and deservedly so. He’s hitting free agency at the perfect time, with the salary cap on the rise and a relatively thin class of available defensemen. If you’re looking for a right-shot blueliner who can move the puck, contribute on the power play, and hold his own in his own zone, Raddysh checks a lot of boxes.
CapWages projects his next deal in the neighborhood of four years with a cap hit just north of $5.3 million. For a defenseman producing at his current level, that’s not an outrageous number. But here’s where things get tricky for the Maple Leafs.
Raddysh will be 30 by the time next season rolls around, and while his current production is eye-catching, it’s also coming in just his third full NHL season. The Leafs have been down this road before - paying big after a breakout season - and it hasn’t always worked out. The David Clarkson contract still lingers in the minds of Leafs fans and execs alike.
The question isn’t whether Raddysh is playing great hockey right now - he is. The question is whether he can sustain this level over the life of a multi-year deal.
Can he be a 50-60 point defenseman consistently? Can he hold down top-pair minutes against the league’s best?
Or is this a perfect-storm season that might not be repeatable?
It’s also worth noting that while Raddysh has been excellent, he’s not in the same tier as Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, or Evan Bouchard - defensemen who have stacked multiple elite seasons on top of each other. If the Leafs view him as a second-pairing guy who can contribute on special teams and chip in offensively, that’s a reasonable projection. But if they’re expecting him to be a franchise-altering presence on the blue line, that’s a much riskier bet.
So, What Should the Leafs Do?
This is where Brad Treliving earns his paycheck. The Leafs are in a tight spot - they need help on the back end, and Raddysh is one of the few potential free agents with real upside. But they can’t afford to swing and miss on another big contract, especially with their core aging and the pressure to win now intensifying.
There’s a path where signing Raddysh makes sense: short-term deal, manageable cap hit, clear role. But if the bidding war pushes the price or term too far, Toronto may have to walk away. Because while Raddysh’s story is one of perseverance and undeniable talent, the Leafs can’t afford to pay for a one-hit wonder - not with so much riding on the next few seasons.
Raddysh is earning his spotlight. He’s been a revelation for the Lightning and a key part of their success this year.
But for Toronto, the decision to pursue him in free agency can’t be based on emotion or recency bias. It has to be calculated, cautious, and rooted in the reality of what comes next - not just what’s happening now.