Darren Raddysh

Lore & Background

Raddysh signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 28, 2021. He made his NHL debut on December 30, 2021, against the Florida Panthers, filling a COVID-related roster vacancy and playing 14 minutes and 57 seconds while recording his first NHL hit. During the 2023–24 season, Raddysh played all 82 games, posting six goals and 27 assists for 33 points, but was held pointless in three playoff games as the Lightning exited in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. In 2024–25, he recorded six goals and 31 assists for 37 points in 73 games, again going pointless in four playoff games in another five-game first-round loss to the Panthers. Raddysh had a breakout offensive season in 2025–26, scoring 22 goals and 48 assists for 70 points in 73 games, nearly doubling his career totals in goals and points in a single season. He set a new Lightning franchise record for goals by a defenceman in a season, surpassing Dan Boyle's 20 in 2006–07 and Victor Hedman's 20 in 2021–22, and joined Hedman as the only defenceman in franchise history to reach 70 points. On January 3, 2026, he scored his first career NHL hat trick in a 7–3 win against the San Jose Sharks, becoming the third defenceman in Lightning history to do so, after Boyle and Doug Crossman.

Reader's Guide

Darren Raddysh's tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning is defined by a late-career offensive explosion that rewrote franchise history for defencemen. After signing with the Lightning in 2021 and making his NHL debut during the COVID-shortened season, Raddysh developed into a reliable regular-season player, appearing in all 82 games in 2023–24. His 2025–26 season, however, elevated him to a historic level: his 22 goals broke the Lightning single-season record for a defenceman, and his 70 points made him only the second blueliner in franchise history to reach that mark, alongside Victor Hedman. The hat trick he scored against the San Jose Sharks on January 3, 2026, also created a rare brotherly milestone, as his brother Taylor had scored a hat trick against the same team three months earlier, marking the first time in 40 years that a pair of brothers had achieved that feat against the same NHL club. Despite these individual accomplishments, Raddysh's playoff performances with the Lightning were limited; he was held pointless in both the 2024 and 2025 first-round exits to the Florida Panthers. His breakout season led to a sign-and-trade deal on June 19, 2026, sending him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fifth-round pick, after he agreed to an eight-year, $68 million contract.

Did You Know?

• He became only the second defenceman in Lightning history to record 70 points in a season, joining Victor Hedman.
• Raddysh scored his first NHL hat trick on January 3, 2026, against the San Jose Sharks.
• He and his brother Taylor became the first pair of brothers in 40 years to each score a hat trick against the same NHL team.

Roots in Caledon and a Brotherhood on the Ice

Darren Raddysh came into the world on February 28, 1996, in Caledon, Ontario, the son of Dwayne, a warehouse manager, and Gwen, an accountant. Growing up in the greater Toronto area alongside his younger brother Taylor—who would also go on to play in the NHL—the two shared a childhood defined by mutual pursuit. Their father, seeking to keep the boys active, purchased rollerblades so they could practice shooting and skating skills at home. Because the brothers were only a few years apart in age, they competed together on the same lacrosse teams and spent countless afternoons on the golf course at the Caledon Country Club. This early environment of sibling rivalry and mutual support laid the groundwork for a career in which the two would repeatedly find themselves on the same page, whether in the OHL, the AHL, or eventually the NHL. Their shared upbringing in a working-class family in suburban Ontario gave them a grounded perspective that would carry through their professional lives.

A Historic OHL Campaign and the First of Its Kind

The 2016–17 season with the Erie Otters stands as the defining chapter of Raddysh's junior career. After a period of relative obscurity during which he went undrafted and received only training camp invitations from the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, he erupted in his final year of major junior hockey. In January, he surpassed the franchise record for career points by a defenceman, and by February he broke the single-season mark with his 68th point of the year. His performance helped the Otters capture the J. Ross Robertson Cup and earn a berth in the Memorial Cup, where they fell to the Windsor Spitfires in a seven-game series. Raddysh made the Memorial Cup All-Star Team alongside Taylor. Most remarkably, he became the first player in OHL history to collect both the Max Kaminsky Trophy as Defenceman of the Year and the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy as Overage Player of the Year in the same season. In the OHL Final, the Raddysh brothers faced the McLeod brothers—the first such matchup in an OHL championship since 2012.

The Tampa Bay Breakout and a Franchise Record

After years of navigating the AHL and brief stints with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, Raddysh found his permanent home with the Tampa Bay Lightning. His 2025–26 season represented a quantum leap in offensive production: 22 goals and 48 assists for 70 points in 73 games, nearly doubling his previous career highs. He shattered the Lightning franchise record for goals by a defenceman in a single season, surpassing the 20-goal mark set by both Dan Boyle and Victor Hedman. He joined Hedman as only the second defenceman in franchise history to reach 70 points in a year. On January 3, 2026, he recorded his first career NHL hat trick in a 7–3 victory over the San Jose Sharks, becoming the third defenceman in Lightning history to accomplish the feat. The moment carried an extra layer of significance: his brother Taylor had also scored a hat trick against the Sharks just three months earlier, making the Raddysh brothers the first pair in 40 years to both score a hat trick against the same opponent, a feat last matched by Marián and Peter Šťastný against Pittsburgh in 1982.

A New Chapter in Toronto

Following his record-setting 2025–26 campaign, Raddysh entered free agency as one of the most sought-after defencemen in the league. On June 19, 2026, the Toronto Maple Leafs secured his services through a sign-and-trade deal, surrendering their 2026 fifth-round draft pick in exchange for the right to sign him. Raddysh agreed to an eight-year, $68 million contract, a commitment that reflects both his elite offensive production and the long-term value teams place on a two-way defenceman capable of generating 70 points in a season. The move returns him to the city where he grew up, reconnecting him with the Toronto community that shaped his early development. His journey—from a 5-foot-11, 165-pound teenager drafted 84th overall by the Erie Otters to a franchise-record-setting NHL star commanding a contract of that magnitude—represents one of the more remarkable arcs in modern hockey. Now a Leaf, Raddysh carries with him the weight of expectations that come with both his statistical peak and his deep personal ties to the city.