The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the market by landing one of the NHL’s top pending free agents in a blockbuster sign-and-trade deal on Friday morning.The Leafs acquired offensive defenseman Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a draft pick and signed him to a massive eight-year contract for more than $8 million a season. The lucrative payday makes Raddysh, 30, one of the highest paid defensemen in the NHL after having never earned more than $975,000 in any previous season.A Toronto native, Raddysh had a breakthrough campaign in 2025-26, recording 22 goals and 70 points, which ranked seventh among defensemen leaguewide. After years in the minor leagues and as a depth contributor, he played a pivotal role for the Lightning after Tampa Bay’s blue line was decimated with injuries, including quarterbacking their top power play unit.
A right shot, Raddysh will immediately become one of the Leafs’ top defensemen, joining a team in flux after they finished fifth last in the overall standings. He is the second defenseman acquired by new Leafs GM John Chayka this week after Toronto added Emil Andrae from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade that included goaltender Joseph Woll going the other way.Undrafted out of the Ontario Hockey League a decade ago, Raddysh spent the majority of his first six seasons as a pro in the AHL split between the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Lightning’s affiliates. His first full season in the NHL was just two years ago in 2023-24 with Tampa Bay.Average-sized at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, Raddysh boasts one of the hardest shots from the point in the league, which is a significant need for Toronto. Not a dynamic skater, he instead relies on his hockey sense to make plays and is considered strong on the breakout.Given his 2025-26 season was such a career outlier, Raddysh was considered the most high-risk, high-reward free agent in the NHL this offseason.Prior to signing Raddysh, the Leafs had $27 million in salary cap space and were projected to be one of the most aggressive teams in Chayka’s first offseason at the helm. They now have six defensemen signed to NHL contracts, including Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Carlo and Philippe Myers.Rielly, the Leafs top offensive defenseman the past 13 seasons, has been featured prominently in recent trade rumors and is expected to waive his no-movement clause for a new destination in the coming weeks.Jun 19, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
