Grading Maple Leafs’ 8-Year Extension for Darren Raddysh

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a splash recently, acquiring the signing rights of Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and extending him to a long-term, eight-year contract. Considering the Maple Leafs needed a right-shot defender this offseason, landing Raddysh was a great move by them, but fans immediately questioned the extension he was given.

Raddysh is coming off of a breakout campaign, where he scored 22 goals and added 48 assists for 70 points through 73 games. Throughout his career, he has scored 35 goals and added 108 assists for 143 points through 249 games.

The role he plays, which is a power play specialist who provides solid play at both ends at even strength while playing big minutes, is exactly what the Maple Leafs needed this summer. However, an $8.5 million cap hit came as a bit of a surprise to many fans, who believed the Maple Leafs overpaid for someone who only has one elite season under his belt.

Maple Leafs Fill a Need, Spend Big

The truth is, this is a massive contract for someone who is coming off of a breakout campaign. It’s always risky to invest long-term in someone who doesn’t quite have an elite resume, but this could be a unique situation. The Maple Leafs filled a need this offseason by just spending a fifth-round pick in a trade to land his signing rights, making sure no one else had a chance to offer him a contract.

If Raddysh had gotten to the market on July 1st, it is safe to assume he could’ve gotten a larger contract, potentially pushing over $9 million annually, considering how many teams are looking to improve their blue line depth this summer. He was previously linked to the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals, but the Maple Leafs made sure they got their guy.

Let’s be honest, this is a perfect addition for the Maple Leafs. Raddysh is exactly what they need on their roster, and considering Morgan Rielly is likely being traded this offseason, a new looking blue line is a great start by new general manager John Chayka this summer.

The main issue with the Raddysh extension is the amount of trade protection. All eight years have a no-movement clause (NMC), meaning he cannot be traded or sent down. In years 7-8 of the contract, the NMC remains in place, meaning he still can’t be sent down, but he submits a 16-team no-trade list.

Raddysh 8 year $8.5M Cap Hit Deal:

Year 1 $1M Base & $10M Signing Bonus
Year 2 5M & 6M SB
Year 3 4.5M & 6M SB
Year 4 4.25M & 4M SB
Year 5 3.45M & 4M SB
Year 6/7/8 3.3M & 3.3M SB

No Move throughout, 16 team No Trade Years 7/8

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That’s a huge risk, and the Maple Leafs are banking on Raddysh being able to maintain the offensive production we saw from him last season.

Two things are true at this point. Signing Raddysh was a smart move by the Maple Leafs, and the contract is a bit of an overpay. We may not know how strong, or bad, this contract is for a couple of seasons, but for now, it seems like a high-risk, high-reward type of deal.

Grade: C

Considering the Maple Leafs want to get back into playoff contention next season, this move proves they’re willing to do what it takes to improve their roster, but we’ll see if it pans out for them.

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