Five potential free agent destinations for Darren Raddysh

Raddysh, who is 30 years old, has a career year with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, scoring 22 goals and adding 48 assists for 70 points through 73 games. Throughout his career, he has played 249 games, scoring 35 goals and adding 108 assists for 143 points.

In this article, we take a quick look at five potential free agent destinations for Raddysh.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The first team we will look at is the Lightning, who could very easily re-sign Raddysh. There might be too much of a market for him, leading to him pricing himself off of their team, and they may look to go a different direction and spend their money elsewhere, especially after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Raddysh is likely getting a massive pay raise, and with the Lightning needing to fill out other needs, they may consider letting him test the open market, unless his asking price drops significantly.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks need to improve their blue line heading into next season, and they have the cap space to spend big in order to do that.

After a solid 2025-26 season, the Sharks are just a few pieces away from being legitimate contenders, and signing Raddysh could be exactly what they need to get them over the hump and back into the postseason.

The Sharks can afford to bring him in on a long-term deal, and take the risk on him declining a bit over the course of the contract. They are so desperate to fill out their defensive depth, that they should be willing to overpay to bring him in, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what they did.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins were loosely connected to Rasmus Andersson before he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights before the 2026 Trade Deadline, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they decided to target Raddysh.

The Bruins are hoping to build on what was a solid 2025-26 campaign, and bolstering their defensive depth could be exactly what they need to be able to make a deep run.

Obviously, the Bruins have some other needs they need to acknowledge, including adding some scoring depth, but it wouldn’t hurt to add an offensive defender like Raddysh, and add some offensive production from their blue line.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to completely overhaul their roster this summer, after missing the playoffs. They decided to relieve Brad Treliving of his duties as general manager, as well as relieve Craig Berube of his duties as head coach, and it seems as though they are prepared to make necessary changes so that they are contending for a Stanley Cup next season.

With rumours flying that they could consider moving on from Morgan Rielly, they need to replace him with someone who can play big minutes and be effective at both ends, and Raddysh is the perfect candidate for that.

They might be a long shot to land him, but if Raddysh is willing to take a bit of a pay cut to join the Maple Leafs, they should pursue him this offseason.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings seem to be doing whatever it takes to get back to the postseason. They have a bright future ahead of them, they have a solid core of forwards, and they seem to have a real shot of getting back to the playoffs next season.

They need to be willing to spend money, and one of the key issues they have is their defensive depth. The Red Wings need to add some stronger players on their blue line, and Raddysh fits the bill for someone who can help them improve in that regard.

Any of these five teams would make a lot of sense to land Raddysh this offseason, and it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them landed him this summer.

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