The Toronto Maple Leafs are nearing a deal to acquire defenseman Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In a surprise late night move, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to finalize a deal for star defenseman Darren Raddysh, according to Elliotte Friedman.
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The full extent of the deal was not at this time reported, but Friedman reports that the trade is expected to be done in the morning.
The structure is the key detail here. Rather than waiting for Raddysh to reach free agency on July 1, Toronto is working out a sign-and-trade - meaning the Leafs send assets to Tampa Bay in exchange to the exclusive right to sign Raddysh before he hits the open market.
A sign-and-trade also allows the acquiring team to lock a player into an eight-year contract, one year longer than he could sign for as a free agent elsewhere.
In short, Toronto is paying a price in assets to guarantee they land Raddysh rather risk a July 1 bidding war.
Raddysh was one of the league's top breakout players this past season, the 30-year-old having career-highs of 22 goals, 48 assists, & 70 points, finishing 11th in the vote for the Norris Trophy.
Having been a leader for Tampa Bay on defense this season, Raddysh was expected to hit free agency, where he would potentially hit $10M+ on the open market, now bypassing becoming a free agent to head to his hometown Toronto.
A report from NHL.com's Dave McCarthy reported that Tampa Bay initially opened with an offer of five years at $5.75M annually for Raddysh.
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The move fills a need for the Leafs on their right-hand side, and a need for a top-pairing defenseman who can contribute on the power play. It also continues a busy offseason overhaul of Toronto's defense under GM John Chayka, who acquired puck-moving defenseman Emil Andrae in the Joseph Woll trade and had reportedly been clearing up cap space for specifically to make a run at Raddysh.
Still to be determined are the term and AAV of Raddysh's new contract and the full package Tampa Bay receives in return.
More details to come once finalized.
Does Darren Raddysh make sense for Toronto?
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