The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering a big offseason. After a nightmare 2025-26 season that saw them finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings and miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs will now be looking to strengthen their roster over the summer to try to get things back on track next season.
The Maple Leafs have already made some major changes to their leadership group. They fired former general manager Brad Treliving in March and replaced him with John Chayka. They also hired franchise legend Mats Sundin as senior executive advisor of hockey operations. Craig Berube was also fired as the Maple Leafs’ head coach, so Toronto has been busy.
Yet, the Maple Leafs are just getting started and should be looking to continue to make changes. When it comes to their roster, one of their top needs is another impactful right-shot defenseman. Due to this, the Maple Leafs are now being urged to sign one of the top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) blueliners if they end up hitting the market on July 1.
Maple Leafs Urged to Sign Lightning Star Defenseman Darren Raddysh
In a recent article for The Athletic, Jonas Siegel argued that the Maple Leafs should consider targeting Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh in free agency if they can’t land an impactful defenseman through the trade market.
“Raddysh would be a complicated addition. On the one hand, he would help the Leafs in areas of need on the back end — namely, his ability to move pucks effectively and boost the power play with a big shot and QB presence. The complication is that he’s 30 and the Leafs are already flooded with 30-and-over defensemen, but if the Leafs and their new GM John Chayka can’t solve their need back there via trade, there’s a case to make for the Toronto native,” Siegel wrote.
With the Maple Leafs needing to boost their right side and Raddysh being one of the best pending UFA blueliners, it is understandable that he is being viewed as a possible target for them. He would have the potential to be a strong addition to their top four if signed, and his stats from this season show this.
In 73 games this campaign with the Lightning, Raddysh recorded 22 goals, 48 assists, and 70 points. This included him posting 10 goals and 26 points on the power play alone. With numbers like these, it would make a lot of sense if the Maple Leafs at least kicked tires on him.
Maple Leafs Would Have Plenty of Competition in the Raddysh Sweepstakes
While Raddysh looks like he could be a strong fit on the Maple Leafs’ blueline, the same can be said for several other teams. Due to this and Raddysh being a top pending UFA, there is no question that Toronto would have a lot of competition if they tried to sign him.
However, that is assuming Raddysh even ends up testing the market. With how well he played this season with the Lightning, the Bolts should be working hard to keep him around. It will be fascinating to see what happens on that front, but if Raddysh hits the market, the Leafs will need to be watched.
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