Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka is really rocking the boat, but landing this year’s biggest UFA without him even hitting the market.
A late-night report by Elliotte Friedman broke the news of an incoming sign-and-trade deal between the Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning. Another insider, Pierre LeBrun, confirmed the deal and offered details.
The whole purpose of the sign-and-trade will be to ensure the organization can get that extra eighth year on the contract. As such, the Leafs will be signing Raddysh to an eight-year deal worth around $8.5 million.
That’s a massive gamble any way you look at it. Raddysh has gone from an undrafted defenseman to a top-pairing blueliner. He was pretty much an afterthought in Tampa. However, injuries opened the door for him to thrive this season.
While we could chalk up his career year to increased playing time and trust from the coaching staff in Tampa, it does not diminish the risk that comes from betting on a guy who’s had just one solid year.
There’s no guarantee that Raddysh could replicate those numbers in the years to come. We won’t know for sure until he proves he’s worth the contract. But if he can’t, his contract could age like stale bread.
A good example of that is Morgan Rielly. The Maple Leafs extended the longtime blueliner following a solid season in 2021-21. He scored five goals and 35 goals in 55 games. He followed that up with a 68-point season in 2021-22, the final year of his contract at that time.
When the first year of his current deal kicked in, Rielly’s numbers dipped back down to his career averages. The numbers haven’t really recovered since. There's even all this talk now about trading Rielly and his terrible contract.
But there’s another contract that could serve the Maple Leafs as a warning regarding Raddysh.
Maple Leafs Bet on Tanev, and now have major question mark
The last time the Maple Leafs pulled a sign-and-trade deal was back in 2024 when Brad Treliving swung a deal with the Dallas Stars for impending UFA Chris Tanev. The Leafs sent a middling prospect and a seventh-round pick for Tanev’s rights.
The Leafs then signed Tanev to a six-year, $27 million deal with a full no-trade clause. To be fair, Tanev was brilliant in his first season. He chipped in 18 points in 75 games while playing a crucial shutdown role alongside Jack McCabe. The duo helped the Maple Leafs push the Florida Panthers to seven games in the 2025 NHL playoffs.
Last season, injuries caught up to Tanev. He only played 11 games before being shut down for the remainder of the season. There’s a good chance Tanev will be back at full strength this upcoming season, but all bets are off.
I know what some fans are thinking. Tanev was much older than Raddysh at the time of the deal. Plus, Raddysh doesn’t have Tanev’s injury history. But then again, you can never really know with a guy who’s had one great year.
Even with seasoned blueliners like Morgan Rielly and Chris Tanev, deals can backfire. They can blow up, leaving plenty of question marks along the way.
The expectation is that Raddysh will be good for a few more seasons. However, it’s unlikely he’ll be a top-pairing guy in his late 30s. The best-case scenario would be that Raddysh proves guys like me wrong by having three or four good seasons.
Thereafter, who knows if he’ll live up to the backend of his contract.
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