When the Toronto Maple Leafs handed defenceman Darren Raddysh an eight-year $68-million contract in the off-season, the message was clear: Toronto believed the 30-year-old was going to be a top-four blueliner for the foreseeable future. And with veterans like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the twilight of their careers, the Maple Leafs had no choice but to invest heavily on the back end
Raddysh was a lesser-known name before his breakout 2025-26 campaign, one where he tallied 22 goals and 48 assists (70 points) behind a high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning lineup. Whether or not Raddysh can sustain such impressive individual scoring is debatable, but less so is the skill set he brings to the table.
He’s a wonderful two-way player; capable of defending the run of play in his own zone, and confident leading defensive zone break outs and transitioning his forwards up ice. Watch a Bolts game with Raddysh on the ice, and you can see how instrumental he was turning defence into offence for Jon Cooper’s club.
One of the parts I’m most curious about with respect to Raddysh and his fit in Toronto is how his role may collide with veteran Morgan Rielly. The 32-year-old Rielly has been the subject of frequent trade discussion and mounting debate as to whether his play is starting to slip as he inches closer to the 1,000-game milestone.
While Rielly does look a step slower to my eye, it’s also fair to acknowledge he routinely plays against tough competition and has spent much of the past two years paired with the aforementioned Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo – good players, but not exactly difference makers.
That’s where I find the addition of Raddysh most interesting. There is a great chance new Leafs head coach Jim Hiller pairs Raddysh and Rielly together to start the season. Is it possible a player like Raddysh could elevate the game of Rielly?
The numbers are certainly encouraging. One of the characteristics of a quality defender is his ability to thrive in different playing environments and with different teammates. I like using multi-year WOWYs (With or Without You) to show how performance changes as a pairing is brought together and split apart.
Over the past three seasons in Tampa, Raddysh had three separate defence partners: J.J. Moser, Victor Hedman, and Emil Lilleberg. How did he perform in each scenario?
No matter the partner, Raddysh’s unit routinely outscored the opposition. That’s a hallmark indicator of a quality defensive player – especially when sampled over thousands of minutes. It’s also noteworthy that Raddysh’s on-ice numbers weren’t entirely the story of some strong goaltending or lofty shooting percentages artificially inflating performance; expected goal rates were also impressive.
The numbers suggest he was most comfortable on the side of Moser; that duo outscored opponents 60 to 36 (+24) over the past three regular seasons, which is nothing short of domination. For context, Rielly’s most common defensive pairing over that same timeframe was Ekman-Larson, and that duo was outscored 47 to 45 (-2).
The Lightning were the better team of the two over this window, but they were better in part because of players like Raddysh driving decisive results. It makes me wonder if Raddysh can be a force multiplier of sorts – not just a positive addition to the Maple Leafs’ blueline, but a player who can positively elevate the performance of a veteran like Rielly in the process.
That’s the outcome GM John Chayka and company are hoping for. Eight days from now, we’ll see if this theory has real substance.
Data via Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, Evolving Hockey, Hockey Reference
