Confident New Maple Leafs GM Continues To Take Risks With Raddysh Contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs surprised the hockey world Friday by acquiring defenseman Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For Raddysh – who produced 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games with the Lightning this past season – the Maple Leafs had to give up only a fifth-round draft pick this summer. And while the Leafs did give up a significant amount of salary cap space to 30-year-old Raddysh – $8.5 million per season for the next eight years – the upside of acquiring a power-play threat and a heavy shot from the point was too enticing for Toronto GM John Chayka to pass up on.

However, one element of the Raddysh acquisition is the no-trade protection he has in his new contract with the Maple Leafs. In a media availability early Friday afternoon, Chayka said Raddysh has some form of no-trade protection, although he wasn't specific about the contract terms.

However, at a point when the Leafs had a whopping 11 players with a no-move or no-trade clause of one form or another, according to PuckPedia, giving out another one feels like Toronto is taking a significant risk with the Raddysh signing.

But Chayka explained that giving a player like Raddysh some form of trade protection is part of the territory when you're trying to acquire difference-making players.

"There's different parts of the contract – there's term, there's dollar (amount), there's signing bonus, there's trade protection, and then there's other things around that… and if you want to land the best free agent, you have to have some flexibility (on no-move or no-trade clauses)," Chayka said. "There's some level of (no-trade) protection if you're going to get a player of (Raddysh's) caliber. All things equal of course, you'd prefer to have the maximum flexibility and optionality, but I think you have to look at the entire picture when you're assessing that."

Asked by The Hockey News about his philosophy regarding handing out no-trade clauses, Chayka said there are multiple influences that determine what type of no-move or no-trade clause (if any) he hands out. But Chayka gave off an aura of confidence that gambling on Raddysh was the right thing for the franchise to do.

"I think Darren's a unique case," Chayka said of the defenseman. "For us, we really saw his career as a continual progression… (we) had a lot of confidence that the fundamentals of his game had consistently improved…the point production is a part of any player's value, but I think the part of the value we were most focused on was his ability to impact the game holistically.

"He's a player that plays up against top competition, does quite well. He's a player that breaks the puck out well, he's a player that can join the rush and supplement offense, transitions well, defends the blueline well. So you start adding up all the elements…(and) that gave us a lot of confidence that we're getting a defenseman that we haven't had in this organization for a long time."

Chayka was careful with his words, but he acknowledged that the Raddysh sign-and-trade comes with potential downside. That said, it didn't stop Chayka from making another bold and proactive transaction as he reshapes the Maple Leafs roster.

Chayka began the week with the Joseph Woll trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. He hired Jim Hiller as Toronto's new coach, and he put a bow on the week with the Raddysh sign-and-trade.

That's a lot of heavy lifting that Maple Leafs fans should be excited about. 

"For us, it's an aggressive move," Chayka said of the Raddysh acquisition. "It's not without risk of course, but we just felt given the stage we're at and what he brings to the table, we felt it was worth pursuing."

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.