The Maple Leafs are expected to target Darren Raddysh in free agency this summer, and the timing is the point. Toronto is trying to open enough salary cap room to be a serious player if he reaches July 1.
Darren Dreger said the Maple Leafs “absolutely covet” Raddysh and are working to create the cap space to make that happen. That makes the chase more than idle speculation: Toronto has identified a specific right-handed defenseman it wants, and it is already moving pieces to make room.
The latest move came a few days before June 18, 2026, when Toronto sent Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers for Samuel Ersson and Emil Andrae. Toronto did not take on any actual dollars in that trade, and Ersson and Andrae are restricted free agents this summer, which keeps the focus on how much flexibility the Maple Leafs still need before they can make a run at Raddysh.
The numbers explain why the interest is real. Over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns, Raddysh had 12 goals and 70 points in 155 games with a +6 rating while averaging 18:15 of ice time per game. This past season, he jumped to 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games, finished at +21 and averaged 22:42 a night, with 26 of his points coming on the power play. That is the profile of a player who can push a blue line forward, which is exactly the kind of puck-moving help Toronto has been seeking for a long time.
Still, there is a reason the race is not finished. Raddysh was forced into a top-pairing role because of Tampa Bay's injury situation, and that breakout stretch may not represent the most stable version of his game. Toronto wants a top-four right-handed defenseman, but it is trying to judge whether last season was the start of a new level or a spike that came with a very specific set of circumstances.
That is what leaves this story on a knife edge. The Maple Leafs may like the fit, and the cap room might be there by July 1, but they still need Raddysh to get to the market first. If he does, Toronto has already made clear it plans to be in the conversation.
