By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins need to upgrade their blue line. That fact is clear after the way they were dispatched in six games by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
How they go about making those improvements is the proverbial million-dollar question as they head into this offseason. One way they could address this issue is via free agency.
Enter Darren Raddysh, the 30-year-old blueliner from Tampa Bay who put up career numbers as their de facto number one defenseman this season. The Toronto, ON native put up his best year as a pro last year, and has positioned himself to become one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league this July.
When looking into Raddysh’s raw numbers from last season, it’s easy to see why teams would be excited about him potentially becoming available. In 73 games, he posted 22-48-70 to go along with an impressive plus-21.
His 22 goals tied for third among NHL defensemen, and his 70 points were good enough for seventh. On top of that, he was a power play dynamo, leading the league in power play goals with ten and finishing seventh in the league in power play points with 26.
Even when you look under the hood at Raddysh’s advanced statistics, it’s clear that this season was no shooting spree aberration or lucky result. According to Moneypuck.com, among all defensemen who played at least one minute (that’s right, only one) this season, the 6’1 defender ranked seventh in expected goals per 60 (.5), tenth in points per 60 (2.54), and eighth in on-ice expected goals percentage (62.2).
The two most important figures I look at in the numbers listed above are expected goals per 60 and on-ice expected goals percentage. It’s easy to write off certain stats as a product of puck-luck or environment, but in Raddysh’s case, these two stats tell you that the ice was always tilted in his team’s favor when he was out there. It illustrates that even when he didn’t point or impact the score sheet, he made a difference whenever he was out there.
The big question surrounding Raddysh is his past and, more specifically, just how long it took him to break out. The right-shot defender didn’t break into the league full-time until 2023-24, when he became a third-pairing defenseman for the Lightning. In the two seasons before this one, he played a total of 155 games and registered 12-58-70 over that span.
That lack of production before a breakout year, combined with Raddysh’s age, is concerning, especially given the contract he could potentially secure. But looking at his advanced numbers from the previous two seasons, it’s clear he’s been trending in the right direction since joining the league.
The right-shot defenseman has skated over 1200 minutes in each of the last three seasons, spending time on all three pairs of the Lightning’s defensive unit. Despite those variations in usage, he’s always averaged over one assist per 60 minutes, consistently posts a Corsi over 50 percent, and has never had an on-ice expected goals percentage of less than 53.
The conundrum General Manager Don Sweeney has to grapple with is whether Raddysh had an outlier season or is capable of producing like this now and in the future. Even if he were to regress to the mean and slip to somewhere between 40 and 50 points, he’d still be a valuable top-four defenseman that fills a significant hole for this team.
According to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, the Bruins have already been linked to Raddysh. The question is how much they are willing to pay him and for how long.
There are already reports circling that the 20-goal scorer could command somewhere around $8-9 million per season on his next contract. And at 30 years old, you can bet he’ll want to lock that number in long-term.
Signing a player of Raddysh’s caliber would solve a couple of problems for the Black and Gold. First, it allows them to upgrade their roster without spending any of the draft and prospect capital they’ve acquired over the past two seasons. Second, it allows them to use said capital to address a bigger hole on the team (say, first-line center?). Last, it allows the Bruins, if they so choose, to target right-shot defensemen and give them the proper time and space to develop while Raddysh is still with the team.
It won’t be easy for management to sign another massive free agent contract to a veteran with an unproven track record (see Elias Lindholm). But given Raddysh’s body of work, underlying stats, and the increase in cap space, it’s easy to see why Boston may like the fit.
One thing that has to happen this offseason is the B’s upgrading their defense corps, especially on the right side. It may come with significant risk, but Raddysh is certainly a player who fits the bill.
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