Blackhawks Bottom Line: Chicago Needs More From Taylor Raddysh

Over the course of the next month, Chicago Hockey Now will be profiling every Chicago Blackhawks player from the 2023-24 season. Today, will be winger Taylor Raddysh.

Taylor Raddysh
Right Wing
Games Played: 73
(Goals – Assists – Points): 5-9-14
Contract Status:  RFA (Arbitration Eligible)

The Short View

Taylor Raddysh is an RFA this summer.  The Hawks will maintain his rights but it is ultimately up to them if they want to bring him back. If they feel he can fit into their forward unit, they’ll give him another look knowing that he does have arbitration rights. But his season may not work in his favor due to the steep drop in his numbers.

There is no doubt that they need him to be better than he was in 2023-24. Raddysh finished the season with five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 73 games played. 

That is wildly off from his season prior where he had 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in 78 games played. He isn’t expected to be a start but he did see expectations of being a solid contributor. 

In the short term, they should give him a contract but he needs to show he is a more productive player as he was in 2022-23. Having a better team around him should help.

The Long View

The long-term for Taylor Raddysh completely depends on what the Blackhawks opt to do. It was a down year for Raddysh, and it sure felt like he was snakebitten when it came to goal scoring. His shooting percentage was an abysmal 4.2%, which was an 11.3% downturn from last year’s output that saw Raddysh pot 20 goals. So which version is the real Raddysh? It likely falls somewhere in the middle, but there could be something to be said for looking at the whole of his career. Out of the 36 career goals he has, last season’s 20 may be the anomaly. Perhaps this season was just a bad season.

But with arbitration rights, the Blackhawks are in the drivers seat, maybe offering Raddysh a little more since they have cap space to spare but putting it all on a one-year show-me contract,

He has already shown something in the NHL with that 20-goal season so he has that on his resume. However, to have a long career in this league you need to stay productive year after year. 

The Bottom Line for Taylor Raddysh

The Blackhawks will probably give Raddysh a one or two-year deal again as an RFA but it won’t see the riches that Philipp Kurashev scored on his deal. If he uses 2024-25 to his advantage, then you may see him on the third/fourth line of a winning team. 

If indeed he re-signs, comes out and produces at a low level again as he did this season, his time is likely up with the Blackhawks.

The production that he’s capable of is somewhere in the middle of the 2022-23 campaign and this last one. Even splitting the middle, it’s a point production of 13 goals (rounded up), 13 assists, and 26 points over 76 games (rounded up). That type of contribution woudl fit the Hawks well as they grow. But another season like this last one likely sees Raddysh playing elsewhere.