Darren Raddysh Is Going To Get Paid This Summer
Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh had been a consistent point producer for a couple of seasons, but what he’s done in Tampa Bay this year is out of this world. Raddysh entered the season with last year’s 37 points (six goals and 31 assists) in 73 games as the high-water mark in his NHL career, but he has obliterated those numbers with 22 goals and 48 assists in 73 games at season’s end. Those kinds of numbers are certain to attract attention in the free-agent market, as Raddysh is a pending unrestricted free agent and couldn’t have picked a better time to have a career year.
At the start of this season, the 30-year-old Raddysh seemed poised to secure something in the range of a three-year, $9MM contract that would give him a solid raise and some stability. However, Raddysh went on to make this the most interesting free agency period of the offseason. It’s not often that a defenseman is the top-scoring free agent available, especially a right-handed one. Raddysh is a special case, and the bidding for his services could get wacky if he hits the open market.
The longer Raddysh remains unsigned, the more likely it becomes that he will test the market. Even though he would probably appreciate the security of a long-term deal with Tampa Bay during the season, the idea of free agency has to be on his mind. Raddysh has earned NHL money for only a few seasons and has never carried a cap hit over $1MM, even though he made $1.114MM in actual salary in the first year of his current two-year, $1.95MM deal.
There is danger in waiting too long to sign, and that danger is that Raddysh’s luck runs out. While Raddysh and his defense partner, J.J. Moser, have had terrific puck luck, with Raddysh carrying a goal share above 80% and a PDO of 101.6, their streak of good fortune won’t last forever. For Raddysh, that could mean a swing of millions of dollars if it runs out in the playoffs. But his success hasn’t been built solely on luck; he’s also been incredibly effective in Tampa Bay, as the team has largely controlled the play when he is on the ice.
So, what kind of contract could Raddysh be looking at this summer? AFP Analytics projects him to receive a four-year deal worth just over $5.3MM per season, which feels a bit light given how thin the free-agent market is, particularly for right-shot defensemen. For Raddysh, the term is also likely shorter than he would like, given how little security he’s had to this point in his career.
There will never be a better time for the 30-year-old to cash in, with the market set up for him to pursue a maximum-term contract. There are many teams with ample cap space to get involved, and right-shot defenders always command a premium. $6MM-$7MM might seem like a wild number for a player with such a small sample size of high-level play, but the rising salary cap has created a new economic climate that NHL teams and players have never encountered before.
Will Tampa Bay step up and give Raddysh an extension? To this point, they’ve been hesitant, and for good reason. There aren’t many players with the career progression Raddysh has shown, so the Lightning are rightfully cautious.
With so many high-ticket, long-term deals already on the books, and another to be signed when Nikita Kucherov becomes a UFA in the summer of 2027, getting a Raddysh deal wrong could be a real issue for the team as it moves toward the end of its contention window. But Tampa Bay might be forced to get it wrong if they want to keep Raddysh, because not only is he the best defenseman available, but he might also be the best free agent available at all.
If Tampa doesn’t sign Raddysh, which teams could be interested? The Maple Leafs will likely be mentioned as a potential suitor. The Ducks will surely be in on him with their entire right side set for UFA status this summer. The list could be 10-15 teams long, given that 23 teams have more than $15MM available this summer and nine have more than $30MM in cap space.
The Sharks and Penguins have the most cap space, but it’s hard to imagine Raddysh getting attention from Pittsburgh, as they already have Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson on the right side, with prospect Harrison Brunicke on the way as well. However, the Sharks could be interested, as they are set to enter their contention window and could look to add offense to their back end.
In any event, Raddyish is going to have a ton of suitors, and he will have full control of his own destiny, provided he reaches free agency on July 1. Tampa Bay remains a premium destination for players thanks to the nice weather, favorable tax situation, and a premier NHL franchise with a long track record of recent success. Raddyish is going to have a difficult decision to make, but one that almost every NHL player would love to have one day.
Atlantic Notes: Stolarz, Holinka, Lightning, Ostlund
The Maple Leafs are shutting down goaltender Anthony Stolarz for the final few games of their season after he was injured on Wednesday against Washington, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. On top of that, head coach Craig Berube noted that while surgery isn’t required, the injury could ultimately affect Stolarz’s offseason training plans, which suggests this isn’t a minor issue. After a breakout effort last season that netted him a four-year, $15MM extension in the preseason, it has been a rough year for Stolarz in 2025-26. Injuries have limited him to just 26 appearances while he hasn’t been particularly sharp, putting up a 3.28 GAA and a .893 SV% after having the highest SV% in the NHL in the previous two seasons. Now, it looks like his offseason training could be impacted, adding one more negative note to a year that has had plenty.
More from the Atlantic:
- Still with the Maple Leafs, the AHL Marlies announced (Twitter link) that forward Miroslav Holinka is joining the team. The 20-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Toronto back in 2024 and is coming off a very productive junior season with WHL Edmonton. Holinka played in 59 games with the Oil Kings during the regular season, notching 37 goals and 43 assists, good for second on the team in scoring. He was even more productive in their first-round playoff loss, tallying seven goals and four assists in seven games. Eligible to play full-time with the Marlies next season, Holinka will now get an early taste of the pros.
- While the Lightning welcomed back Brandon Hagel this afternoon versus Boston, they were without a pair of other regulars. Team reporter Benjamin Pierce relayed (Twitter link) that center Zemgus Girgensons and defenseman Darren Raddysh are out with day-to-day injuries. Girgensons was limited after blocking a shot on Thursday in Montreal while Raddysh’s injury is a little harder to pin down after he scored the game-tying goal late in that one. At this point, there doesn’t appear to be any concern about their playoff availability.
- The Sabres are hopeful that center Noah Ostlund will be ready to return for the playoffs, notes Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). He has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury; head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that the 22-year-old is skating daily and that it’s a pain management issue at this point. Ostlund has 11 goals and 16 assists in 60 games for Buffalo this season and should slot back into a bottom-six spot once he’s cleared to return to the lineup.
Lightning, Darren Raddysh To Wait On Extension Talks
While Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh is in the midst of the best season of his hockey career, he’ll likely need to wait just a little bit longer before he can cash in on his success.
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois told the media yesterday, including the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina, that the club and Raddysh’s representatives would wait to engage in negotiations over a potential contract extension until the end of the season.
BriseBois stated his belief that Raddysh’s play has earned the blueliner a “game-changing contract,” but felt that waiting until the end of the season would allow the club to enter negotiations with a more complete sense of how to evaluate the defenseman’s appropriate contract value.
In a season where the Lightning have dealt with a rash of injuries to their blueline, Raddysh has emerged as a key difference-maker. The 29-year-old went undrafted out of the OHL’s Erie Otters but garnered significant league interest as a free agent at the end of his junior career. He originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and would go on to spend over a half-decade in the AHL before he earned his first NHL call-up.
Raddysh earned four NHL games for the Lightning in 2021-22, but his real breakout came in 2022-23, when he scored 51 points in 50 games for the Syracuse Crunch.
He got into 17 NHL games that year, which paved the way for him to earn a full-time role in Tampa the following year. Raddysh scored 33 points in 82 games in his first season as a full-time NHLer, 37 points in 73 games last season, and now has 12 goals and 36 points in 36 games this season.
For as much as he’s clearly developed in his late twenties, few likely expected Raddysh to sit top-five in league scoring by a defenseman halfway through an NHL season. He’s scoring at a higher clip this season than star names such as Quinn Hughes, Rasmus Dahlin, Moritz Seider, and Miro Heiskanen, to name just a few.
Playing defense is about more than just scoring, of course, and that’s why it’s important to note that Raddysh is also playing a key all-situations role for Tampa. He’s their No. 2 defenseman by average ice time per game (21:35) and beyond just getting top power play time, he also plays a role on the penalty kill.
He’s providing Tampa with an immense amount of surplus value on his current $975K cap hit, and as BriseBois said, has clearly lined himself up for a significant contract.
Of course, it’s fair to question whether a team interested in Raddysh will be able to expect Raddysh to put up the kind of point-per-game production he’s managed halfway through this season. But even if his true talent level isn’t quite as high as where he’s ranked right now, the fact is he’s still a right-shot blueliner who managed solid scoring rates in each of the last two seasons prior to this one.
Long gone is the flat cap environment where the vast majority of NHL clubs were tightening their purse strings and showing restraint on the free agent market. With each passing extension that gets signed, the upcoming free agent class thins even further, increasing Raddysh’s earnings potential as one of the top pending UFA blueliners.
For as much as the Bolts might want to see more games before committing significant funds to Raddysh, Raddysh may also want to wait as long as possible before committing to a contract extension in Tampa, as he very well could receive the most lucrative possible offer within the bidding wars of unrestricted free agency.
In any case, both Raddysh and the Lightning have more pressing objectives than the finances of next season; most importantly, it’s returning to the top of the game’s competitive pecking order and winning a third Stanley Cup under head coach Jon Cooper. If Raddysh can manage to string together a few more months of this kind of production, and find a way to translate his scoring to the high-intensity setting of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he could further heighten his chances of landing a life-altering contract this upcoming summer.
Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Atlantic Notes: Raddysh, Fleury, Matthews
Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Chris Krenn tweeted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said defenseman Darren Raddysh is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old missed game 4 of Tampa Bay’s first-round series last night after he’d averaged over 17 minutes of ice time in the first three games.
The native of Toronto, Ontario spent nearly five seasons toiling in the AHL before emerging this season as a solid depth option for the Lightning. In 82 games this year, Raddysh posted six goals and 27 assists while playing over 19 minutes a game. A late bloomer, Raddysh set career highs in almost every offensive category this season, while still providing the Lightning with solid work in the defensive zone.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Jon Cooper also told Chris Krenn that defenseman Haydn Fleury is healthy and available to play for the Lightning. The former seventh-overall pick hasn’t played since colliding with an official back on April 6th in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and did take warm-ups last night with the team. While he is available for game 5, Fleury may serve as a healthy scratch given the depth Tampa Bay has on their back end. Fleury has never lived up to his top-10 draft status but remains a decent depth option for the Lightning should a defenseman go down to injury.
- TSN’s Chris Johnston tweeted that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about superstar Auston Matthews saying that the illness he’s been suffering from has lingered and worsens when he gets on the ice and begins to push himself. Matthews left last night’s game early as the Maple Leafs fell into a deep hole and now trail the Boston Bruins 3-1 in their first-round matchup. The 26-year-old played just 14:16 yesterday, registering a single shot on goal and has just a goal and two assists in four playoff games thus far. Toronto will face elimination tomorrow night in Boston.
Lightning To Activate Mikhail Sergachev From LTIR, Expected For Game 4
Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is taking normal line rushes during warmup ahead of tonight’s must-win Game 4 against the Panthers, indicating he’s been activated off long-term injured reserve, per the team’s Chris Krenn. Sergachev has been out since fracturing his fibula and tibia during a game on Feb. 7, and head coach Jon Cooper said earlier this month that he wasn’t expected back until the second round at the earliest. The team later confirmed he’ll be entering the lineup as they try to stave off early elimination against their cross-state rivals.
Sergachev, 25, hasn’t played a full game in over four months. He sustained a lower-body injury against the Blues on Dec. 19 that kept him out of game action through the All-Star break and sustained the freak double-break in his left leg while attempting to lay a hit on Rangers winger Alexis Lafrenière in his first game back.
Those injuries limited the top-four fixture to 34 appearances in the regular season, his fewest as a Lightning. Before his initial injury, Sergachev was struggling to recapture his 2022-23 form that earned him Norris Trophy consideration for the first time. Offensively, his points per game pace dropped from 0.81 to 0.56, and his possession metrics dipped slightly as well. The latter was to be expected, though, after a salary cap crunch forced the Lightning to part with many key depth players after last season.
He was actually on the ice for fewer expected goals against per game at even strength than he was last season, something you wouldn’t glean from his -16 rating. That was tanked due to the majority of Sergachev’s playing time coming while starting netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy was out recovering from preseason back surgery, forcing inexperienced backup Jonas Johansson into most of the starts to begin the year.
Line rushes indicate he’ll be paired with Erik Černák as the Lightning begin to try and climb out of a 3-0 series deficit. The two were routinely partners when Sergachev was healthy this season, playing 238 minutes together in 31 games. Per MoneyPuck, the pair controlled 48% of expected goals when deployed together.
They’ll operate as Cooper’s second defense pairing behind Victor Hedman and Mathew Dumba in Game 4. Dumba moves up alongside Hedman as Darren Raddysh is a late scratch with an undisclosed injury. Raddysh took just two shifts in the third period of Game 3.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Darren Raddysh To Extension
The Tampa Bay Lightning have inked defenseman Darren Raddysh to a two-year, one-way contract extension, as announced today by the team. The contract, which carries an AAV of $975K, will take effect starting in 2024-25. PuckPedia later added that Raddysh will earn a $1.114MM salary in 2024-25 and an $836K salary in 2025-26.
Raddysh, 27, broke into the Lightning lineup in the back nine of last season after a career year in the minors. Named to the AHL’s First All-Star Team for 2022-23, Raddysh led all Syracuse Crunch defensemen with 38 assists and 51 points in 50 games. It earned him a call-up to the Lightning in early March, and he recorded a goal and two assists for three points in 17 games before appearing in all six postseason games for the Lightning in their first-round loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Erik Cernak sidelined for most of the series with an upper-body injury after he took an elbow to the head from then-Toronto forward Michael Bunting in Game 1, Raddysh stepped into a top-four role alongside Mikhail Sergachev. Although he posted solid possession metrics in the regular season, the Sergachev-Raddysh unit conceded the most quality opportunities of Tampa’s three main pairings in the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.
An undrafted free agent, Raddysh also spent time with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers organizations before landing in Tampa in 2021 as a free agent. The right-shot defender from Caledon, Ontario, has demonstrated solid two-way instincts in the minors, which appeared to translate to the big leagues in his slightly extended NHL look last season.
The contract’s one-way nature emphasizes Tampa’s belief that Raddysh can be a full-time NHL contributor moving forward, although ideally, they won’t rely on him for heavy minutes unless his game takes another large step. He’ll compete with Haydn Fleury, Zach Bogosian and 2023 free agency addition Calvin de Haan for ice time – a group head coach Jon Cooper will likely rotate throughout the season.
Raddysh will be an unrestricted free agent when his new contract expires in 2026. This season, he’s still on the two-year, two-way contract extension he signed in 2022, which carries a cap hit of $762.5K, an AHL salary of $250K, and a minimum guaranteed salary of $350K, although again, it’s likely he sticks on the NHL roster this season (he would require waivers to be returned to Syracuse).
AHL Shuffle: 3/4/23
While there were plenty of recalls yesterday following paper demotions to the minors to maintain AHL eligibility, some of those moves will come today instead. We’ll keep track of those transactions here while non-paper recalls will be covered separately.
- The Lightning announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Darren Raddysh from AHL Syracuse. The 27-year-old played for Tampa Bay in Thursday’s loss to Pittsburgh but has spent most of the year with the Crunch, picking up 50 points in 50 games to put him second among all AHL rearguards in scoring.
- The Penguins announced (Twitter link) the recall of forward Drew O’Connor from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 24-year-old last played in the AHL three months ago and since then, he has been a regular most nights with Pittsburgh, recording five goals and three assists in 27 games.
- The Flames have recalled wingers Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier from AHL Calgary, per the AHL’s transactions log. Both players were papered down on Friday. Duehr has four points in 17 games with the Flames so far this season while Pelletier has seven points in 16 contests, five of which have come in Calgary’s last five outings.
- Nashville has recalled forwards John Leonard and Luke Evangelista from Milwaukee after sending them down yesterday, per the AHL’s transactions log. Leonard scored in his first game of the season with the Predators on Thursday while Evangelista has an assist over his first two NHL appearances.
- The Kings have recalled centers Rasmus Kupari and Quinton Byfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. Kupari has spent most of the year with Los Angeles, getting into 47 games with them compared to 11 with the Reign while Byfield has suited up 34 times for the Kings compared to 16 in Ontario. These quick demotions will keep them eligible to play in the AHL postseason.
- The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) they have sent down Ben Meyers to the Colorado Eagles. Meyers has played 34 games in the NHL this season with the Avalanche, scoring one goal and zero assists.
This post will be updated throughout the day.