We are less than two weeks away from NHL free agency beginning on July 1. Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has a handful of needs he would like to address. One of them is on defense with a need for a right-shot blueliner.
There are scheduled to be some free agent targets that could hit the open market, but the options will have one less after the Toronto Maple Leafs, of all teams, are swooping in and plucking him from the Bruins and the rest of the league, from the Tampa Bay Lightning, well before free agency, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Maple Leafs acquire Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh in trade
Raddysh was going to be highly coveted if he hit the open market. He had a huge breakout 2025-26 season for Tampa Bay with 22 goals and 48 assists while averaging a blistering 22:42 a night. He had a plus/minus of plus-22 on a team that finished in second place in the loaded Atlantic Division.
It was a surprising season for the 30-year-old in terms of being one of the better offensive defenseman. He agreed to an eight-year deal with Toronto for $64 million with an AAV of $8 million, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. That is a monster deal and honestly, one that most, if not all, Bruins fans are going to be happy that Sweeney didn't do. Imagine if that contract were on Boston's books with a likely regression coming sooner rather than later, before that deal ages.
As for the rest of the free agent market, it's going to be a nervous 10-plus days for Sweeney and the rest of the Bruins front office. As we saw with the center market back in May get smaller after former Boston forward Charlie Coyle agreed to an extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the defensive market will likely shrink more as well.
If Raddysh hit the open market, it was hard to envision Boston being able to outbid teams with a long-term deal, so maybe this sign-and-trade is a blessing in disguise for the Bruins. Regardless, they are going to have to deal with Raddysh for eight more years in the division, this time with the Maple Leafs.
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