Darren Raddysh thrilled to join Maple Leafs in sign-and-trade

TORONTO -- Somewhere, somehow, Darren Raddysh knows his late father, Dwayne, would be proud.

Dwayne always wanted to see one, if not both, of his two sons, Darren and Taylor Raddysh, play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Alas, he never had the chance, having died March 3 after a valiant battle against pancreatic cancer.

Less than four months later, Darren is now a member of the Maple Leafs, having been acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. And as he came to grips with the reality of now being on the team he grew up cheering for as a boy in Caledon, Ontario, 40 miles northwest of Scotiabank Arena, the first thing that came to his mind: how happy this would make his dad.

Darren recalled his childhood days being a Maple Leafs fan with Dwayne, whether it was attending games in person with him or watching them on TV on Saturday nights as part of a family ritual.

“I think it was just going with my dad,” Darren, 30, said via Zoom on Monday when asked what his fondest memory of being a young Maple Leafs supporter was. “He recently passed. And just, you know, seeing the smile he had on his face when we go to the games, and how much joy it brought to me and my brother, it's something that I cherished, and I know my brother did as well.

“And, you know, just to be able to play here every night, it’s … it's definitely one of his dreams, and you know, I'm happy that I can make that happen for him.”

And for himself as well.

As kids, he and Taylor, now a 28-year-old forward for the New York Rangers, would play mini-sticks in the basement of the family home while wearing Maple Leafs jerseys. Now he’ll be donning one for real in the NHL.

“It means the world,” Darren said. “My brother and I grew up being Leafs fans. We go with our dad to watch the games. And to be able to put that jersey on, and to be able to play in front of the home fans, it’s awesome. 

“A lot of friends and family have already texted me and are excited. And I'm super excited as well to be joining Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Darren was traded to the Maple Leafs for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. As part of the move, the right-shot defenseman, who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, signed an eight-year contract with Tampa Bay before being sent to Toronto.

In making the acquisition, Toronto is banking on the fact that he is a late bloomer who is just coming into his own.

Darren had NHL career highs in goals (22), assists (48), points (70), rating (plus-21), power-play goals (10), power-play points (26), game-winning goals (six), shots on goal (212) and ice time per game (22:42), playing 73 games this season. He nearly matched his point total from his first four seasons in the League, when he had 73 points (13 goals, 60 assists) in 176 games. 

The Lightning had been vocal in their desire to retain him but also admitted it would be financially difficult to fit him in if the market became too inflated.

The Maple Leafs didn’t want to take that chance and aggressively traded for him 12 days before he was eligible for free agency.

“I like the (Toronto) roster,” Darren said. “They’ve got a lot of exceptional players, and I'm just fortunate to be a part of that. You know, try and get to know the guys as best as possible early on and form chemistry.

“I've heard good things about (new coach) Jim (Hiller), when he was in L.A (with the Los Angeles Kings). They had some pretty good teams, and they're always tough to play against, so hopefully (we’re) going to continue that.

“Get to know these guys, and you know, hopefully start something special.”

Raddysh was asked what spurred on his career breakout with Tampa Bay.

“Just getting the opportunity to play,” he said. “I was in and out of the lineup. When I was playing, I was playing as (the) seventh defenseman. Just getting the opportunity to play on (the) power play and just kind of getting to show my stuff and show what what I can do is probably one of the biggest things for this last year. 

“Playing in Tampa was awesome. There’s a lot of great guys there, and it holds a special place in my heart. It came down to just business. I can't have anything bad to say about the organization. … I think they wanted to go in a different direction than what we wanted to, and ultimately it led to Toronto.”

Interestingly, as a one-time minor hockey league teammate of Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, Raddysh was a forward until age 16. He certainly has developed into a superior blue-line performer since then.

“I'm a good two-way defenseman,” he said. “I like to take pride in my own end first and not getting scored on, and making sure we're doing the right things and playing the right way. The offense will come.

“There's a lot of things to my game that contribute to being a two-way player.”

One the Maple Leafs have made a long-term investment in.

One who is embracing coming home.