Leafs acquire star Lightning player and immediately sign him to an eight-year extension
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Daniel Lucente
Jun 19, 2026 (9:15)
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Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs landed Darren Raddysh from Tampa Bay in a sign-and-trade, giving up a fifth-round pick for eight years of blue-line help.
TSN's Chris Johnston confirmed the deal is worth $8.5 million annually, with Elliotte Friedman first reporting the agreement just before 2:00 AM eastern time Friday.
Raddysh, 30, put together a remarkable 2025-26 season - 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games with the Lightning. L
The two years prior told a quieter story: 33 points in 2023-24 and 37 in 2024-25.
What fueled the leap was Victor Hedman missing most of the season, handing Raddysh the top pairing minutes and power-play quarterback duties he had never held before.
He seized them completely - and now Toronto is betting $68 million that those circumstances were the beginning of something permanent, not an extraordinary product of a one-time opportunity.
What Tampa's asking price actually signals
Tampa Bay had every right to match any offer or demand a significant return in a sign-and-trade involving a 30-year-old who just put up 70 points.
They asked for a fifth-round pick.
Teams don't surrender players for a fifth unless they have genuine doubt about what comes next.
The Lightning knew Hedman was returning, meaning the role that built Raddysh's season was disappearing.
Toronto knows this too, presumably - but John Chayka decided the upside was worth the gamble and the cap hit.
A blue line that looks genuinely different now
The Raddysh signing follows the acquisition of Emil Andrae from Philadelphia and the hiring of Jim Hiller as head coach last week.
Chayka arrived talking openly about the need for puck-moving defencemen, and in the span of seven days he has added two.
At $8.5 million, Raddysh doesn't need to replicate 70 points every year to justify the contract.
But Toronto needs the version of him that doesn't disappear when the circumstances change.
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