Darren Raddysh was signed to fix the Maple Leafs' worst underlying problem

Darren Raddysh not only adds a powerful shot from the point, but his deeper numbers show that he could help solve Toronto's biggest issue.

Raddysh was acquired earlier this offseason in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay, where Toronto sent a fifth-round pick to the Lightning for Raddysh - taking on a $68-million contract in the process. Coming off a 22-goal, 70-point season, the Maple Leafs added him with the goal of creating a dangerous threat on the blueline.

Not only will he add a fireball of a shot from the point, but he's going to help cure one of Toronto's biggest ailments - possession.

Toronto spent too much time chasing the puck last season

The Maple Leafs were pretty awful last season when it came to defending their zone and gaining possession. They ranked dead last in defensive zone time percentage (43.2%), last in offensive zone time percentage (38.9%) and 27th in long-range shots (418).

That inability to keep the puck is hurting stars like Auston Matthews and William Nylander, as they are stuck in their own zone trying to wait for a breakout but the defence continually neglects to not only get the puck on their stick, but get it out of their zone.

Matthews is coming off a down year, and he needs the proper personnel to help him thrive. He plays best when he can focus on getting open and getting his quick-release shot off so keeping the puck and sustaining more consistent offensive chances in order to provide those chances will be important.

All that time in their own end clearly led to a downswing in time in the opponent's, and it's pretty difficult to score goals when you're trapped in the back half of the ice.

Raddysh gives Toronto a weapon they've yet to have in the Matthews era

Enter Raddysh - someone who is the polar opposite when it comes to percentages to the Maple Leafs.

He ranked in the 95th percentile in offensive zone percentage (45.5%) and also 96th in defensive zone percentage (36.1%). Raddysh is a player who not only gathers the puck from his own end, but manages to keep possession and can help the Maple Leafs spend more time attacking than defending.

Add onto that his shot, which ranked in the 98th percentile for average speed (75.37 MPH) and his 97 shots between 90-101+ MPH was nearly double that of the second ranked player who is Evan Bouchard with 51 where the Maple Leafs in total had only 34.

That shot isn't just for scoring either. It's such a powerful and fast shot that a screening player like Matthew Knies may make it nigh-impossible for goalies to see, and if defenders respect the shot and pinch in on him then he can use his puck-moving skills to find his teammates who have a bit more open space now.

He also led the NHL in goals from the long-range goals (9), was in the 99th percentile in long-range shots on goal (130 total) and he had over triple the league average of shots on goal (212 to 62).

Toronto has never had a player like this in the Matthews era, and the last player who had this much of a shot threat on the PP was Dion Phaneuf. In 2011-2012 he scored 7 power-play goals, meanwhile no other Maple Leaf has hit that mark since.

While the contract he signed may be expensive in some fans eyes, and only worthwhile depending on if he builds off his breakout season, Raddysh's underlying numbers do improve the Maple Leafs in ways they struggled last year.

Toronto had a real problem with keeping hold of the puck last season, and Raddysh will at least help elevate the Maple Leafs from the bottom of the leaderboard.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Auston Matthews takes another important step in recovery alongside Joe Thornton