The Toronto Maple Leafs came into this off-season looking to accomplish some major tasks as they aim to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs following a disappointing campaign in 2025/26.
Thus far, they’ve done that, as they have landed John Chayka as their new General Manager, pairing him with Jim Hiller as Head Coach, and with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on top of that, things are once again looking up for the Maple Leafs. They remain in arguably the NHL’s toughest division, and things will need to break right for this team to turn things around in 2026/27, but with their stars still leading the way, this team could be entirely different ahead of the upcoming season.
Maple Leafs Acquire Darren Raddysh in Shock Move
GettyDarren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The other big thing the team needed to do was upgrade on their blue line, and that’s led to plenty of speculation surrounding veteran Morgan Rielly, who many believe could be on the way out. While that’s yet to happen, the team made a shocking move on Thursday night, acquiring the rights to Darren Raddysh from the rival Tampa Bay Lightning, giving up a fifth-round pick in the process.
Following that, the team inked him to an extension worth $68 million over eight seasons, with the Maple Leafs believing the 30-year-old could be the explosive, puck-moving defenseman they’ve been seeking for years now. All moves in the NHL come with a level of risk, and after being a late bloomer, the fact that Tampa Bay were willing to give him up for a fifth-round pick suggests there may be added risk here for Toronto.
Raddysh Lands Historic Salary Cap Increase
Raddysh’s new contract comes with an annual salary cap hit of $8.5 million for the next eight seasons, and this comes on the back of a deal with Tampa Bay that was two years, $1.95 million total. Obviously, he earned the pay increase by posting 22 goals and 70 points last season after posting a total of 70 points combined in the previous two seasons.
While the increase was earned by the Ontario native, the Maple Leafs took a huge risk, as Raddysh’s contract is now officially the third highest salary cap increase by a player in NHL history, as he jumps $7.525 million from his last contract to this one.
Thanks to @AdamVingan for the question
Ahead of Raddysh are Jackson Lacombe ($8.075 million increase) and Kirill Kaprizov ($8 million increase) on his record breaking deal, showing the amount of faith that Toronto have in Raddysh to be their No. 1 for a long, long time to come. While Raddysh’s breakout only came in 2025/26, he’s been a solid player for two years in Tampa Bay, posting 33 and 37 points in the prior two years, but now, the pressure is on him to not only replicate his 2025/26 production, but perhaps even increase it.
Ultimately, Raddysh was always going to get paid on the back of an incredible campaign, but given the spotlight that comes with playing in Toronto and this historic increase, the pressure only mounts for Raddysh.
Historic Increase Proves Toronto Maple Leafs Took Major Risk on Darren Raddysh