The Toronto Maple Leafs completed a sign-and-trade deal to acquire defenseman Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a fifth-round round pick, the team announced Friday.
Toronto signed the 30-year-old to an eight-year contract extension. The deal includes an average annual value of $8.5 million, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
"We are thrilled to add a defenceman of Darren's caliber to our organization," new Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka said in a statement. "Darren has emerged as one of the NHL's premier two-way defensemen, combining elite puck-moving ability with poise, competitiveness, and strong play in all three zones. He strengthens our blue line in every situation and is exactly the type of player we want helping lead this team."
Raddysh is coming off a breakthrough 22-goal, 48-assist campaign and was on track to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Toronto native also led the Lightning in average ice time at 22:41 per game.
Darren Raddysh, acquired and signed 8x$8ishM by TOR, is a top-pair offensive defenceman with an old school clap-bomb from the point, strong puck-moving all over the ice, and solid stick-work defensively. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/MW26kxUSJb
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 19, 2026
Raddysh marks the second notable defenseman trade for the Maple Leafs under Chayka, who acquired Emil Andrae from the Philadelphia Flyers in a four-player trade at the beginning of the week. That deal sent another defenseman, Simon Benoit, to the Flyers.
Established veterans Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Carlo, Jake McCabe, and Chris Tanev make up the rest of Toronto's defense core.
In addition to recalibrating their blue line, the busy Maple Leafs hired former Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller to replace Craig Berube on Wednesday.
