Three weeks after the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a sign-and-trade for Darren Raddysh, the contract looked like a hefty bet. Now, after the first wave of NHL free agency, it looks a lot more manageable.
Toronto landed the 30-year-old defenceman from the Tampa Bay Lightning on an eight-year, $68 million deal, a move that brought in a veteran coming off a career year. At the time, the $8.5 million annual average value drew plenty of second-guessing.
Some saw a premium price tag for a player entering his 30s. Others viewed him as more of a power-play weapon than a full-package blue liner.
Either way, the reaction was the same: good player, big number.
Then the market moved.
The deal that really shifted the conversation came when the Chicago Blackhawks acquired Bowen Byram and then signed him to a six-year, $75 million contract. That pushes Byram’s AAV to $12.5 million through the 2032-2033 season.
He’s five years younger than Raddysh, but his offensive ceiling has not matched Toronto’s new blueliner. Raddysh posted 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games for the Lightning in 2025-26, while Byram’s career-best is 42 points in 82 games, a mark he reached last season.
None of that is meant as a knock on Byram. But the size of Chicago’s commitment caught plenty of attention, and it has taken some of the sting out of Toronto’s number.
The broader defense market has only reinforced that point. Rasmus Andersson re-signed with the Vegas Golden Knights for seven years and $59.5 million, which lands him at the same $8.5 million AAV as Raddysh. John Carlson also came in at $8.5 million per season on a two-year deal with the Lightning.
Then there was Jacob Trouba, who signed a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks at $8.25 million per year. Trouba brings a physical edge, but he finished last season with 35 points in 81 games for the Ducks, and his career high remains 50 points from 2018-19. Even with that profile, he’s still just below Raddysh’s yearly cap hit.
The younger names on the market didn’t reach the same price point, but they helped show where the trend is heading. After the Calgary Flames acquired Simon Nemec from the New Jersey Devils, they signed the 22-year-old to a five-year, $36.25 million deal, good for a $7.25 million AAV. Nemec is coming off his third NHL season and a career-high 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games.
The Anaheim Ducks also locked up one of their young defensemen, giving 22-year-old Pavel Mintyukov a five-year deal with a $7.2 million AAV. Mintyukov had eight goals and 22 points in 73 games last season, and his best offensive year came as a rookie in 2023-24, when he put up 28 points in 63 regular-season games.
So even if Raddysh settles in as little more than a power-play specialist, Toronto’s number suddenly looks a lot less out of line than it did a few weeks ago. With the cap climbing and defensemen cashing in across the league, the Maple Leafs may have gotten ahead of the market by locking him in when they did.
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Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is in a position where it may have to weigh what its future roster looks like against the value of keeping veterans in place. Bryan Rust has come up as a name worth watching in that discussion, especially with his contract running through 2028 and no trade protection attached, but the cost to pry him loose would not be small. If the Leafs are going to make a real swing, they may need to decide whether to part with more than just a pick to get the kind of forward they have been missing. [Read more 🡒]
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For Toronto, the appeal is obvious: a chance to add a young, high-end defenseman without waiting for the market to dry up elsewhere. Nothing is official, and the talks remain firmly in the realm of possibility, but the fit is the kind that tends to linger around this time of year, especially for a team still searching for a cleaner answer on the back end. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans Wont Love Why Werenski Is Back In Trade Talk
Matthew Knies has become one of the more interesting names in the Maple Leafs orbit because his combination of age, role and contract control gives Toronto something every team wants and few are eager to move. Even with reports that the Leafs have at least listened on him, the asks they have been weighing have been substantial enough to show just how much value he carries, especially for a club that is always trying to balance present urgency with future flexibility.
That is why the speculative trade chatter keeps circling back to big names, from Dylan Larkin to Zach Werenski to Connor Hellebuyck, even if none of those possibilities is close to real. The Werenski idea, in particular, comes with its own obvious hurdle because Toronto would need more than just a willing trade partner, and the price would not be light. For now, Knies remains in Toronto, but the fact that he is still being discussed at all says plenty about how aggressively the Leafs are at least exploring their options. [Read more 🡒]