The San Jose Sharks desperately need to address their blue line if they want to make a push for the Stanley Cup playoffs during the 2025-26 season. Mike Grier was able to patch things together last summer, and built a blue line that was almost good enough to qualify for the postseason, but they fell just short and it seemed very unsustainable without significant improvement.

The biggest fish expected to be available in free agency on July 1 is current Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh. While signing the now 30-year-old defender could be exactly what the Sharks need to take their blue line to the next level, it also comes with significant risk, as he carries quite a bit of uncertainty.

The 2025-26 season was the best of Raddysh's career, and he established himself as a top offensive defenseman and power play quarterback. With that being said, it was a tremendous deviation from what he's shown previously in his career. When he originally signed with the Lightning, he was viewed as a depth defenseman who spent the majority of his time with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

Raddysh went on to become a regular in Jon Cooper's lineup beginning in the 2023-24 season and never looked back. In his first two seasons, he had 33 and 37 points respectively while bouncing between the second and third pairings. When the Lightning were struck by injuries this season, Raddysh was paired with JJ Moser and they found instant chemistry.

There's been a lot of speculation regarding Raddysh's next contract, with numbers varying wildly with some projected cap hits even reaching eight figures per season. It's a big gamble to take on a 30-year-old defenseman with one very good season under his belt. With his next contract, he'll likely either be one of the league's best value signings of this year's free agent class, or he'll be seen as one of the worst signings in recent memory, with very little in-between. 

One thing that will certainly help Raddysh in San Jose would be his ability to slot directly into their first power play unit, much like he has in Tampa Bay. He has a thunderous one-timer and scored 10 power-play goals and a total of 26 power-play points for the Lightning. Last season, not even Macklin Celebrini had double digit power-play goals for the Sharks. In fact, the last Shark to do so was Timo Meier.

Games Played - 73

Goals - 22

Assists - 48

Points - 70

Shots -  212

Shooting Percentage - 10.4%

Time on Ice - 22:42

Plus/Minus - +21

Signing Darren Raddysh, even if he regresses to his prior level of production, will undoubtedly help the Sharks improve their blue line. The main concern comes down to whether or not he'll live up to the contract he signs, whatever that may be. It's a risky move for Mike Grier to make, but it has the potential to be exactly what the Sharks need on their blue line.

Raddysh will undoubtedly be a solid puck-moving presence and will be tasked with quarterbacking the Sharks' power play if he comes to San Jose, but there's a chance all of his positive contributions get bogged down by his contract if things don't work out perfectly.