On Thursday, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois held his annual fireside chat with local media. Following tradition, he opened with an overall assessment of the team’s performance, noting that the Lightning rank second in the NHL in goal differential, third in 5-on-5 goal differential, fifth on the penalty kill, and third in team defense, all markers that tend to carry over the course of a season.
“As we stand here, we’re 42 games into the season, and the team has the underlying numbers of a really good hockey team again this year,” said BriseBois. "Our success stems from our commitment to being a really good defensive team. Going back to last season, I think our group has re-established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the league, and that's why we've had success, and that's why I have reason to believe we're going to continue to have success.”
After a bumpy start, the Lightning’s power play now sits 15th overall but has been trending upward, ranking fifth in the league since Dec. 9 with a 28.3% success rate. BriseBois credited defenseman Darren Raddysh for some of that recent success.
“From a personal standpoint, I’m really happy for Darren, because he’s setting himself up for a life-changing contract,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s going to be for him, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
The 29-year-old defenseman is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In their 4-2 win over Colorado on Tuesday, Raddysh made franchise history, becoming the first Lightning defenseman to record four consecutive multi-point games.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images“I hope his future is in Tampa,” said BriseBois. “He's been with us for a long time. One thing I take particular pride in is those guys that come into our organization with no fanfare, expectations are almost nonexistent, and they end up putting in the work, taking advantage of the resources and the support that we can provide them by putting in the work, believing in themselves and finding a way to get to the NHL and establishing themselves in the NHL. Darren is a great success story, because those success stories inspire other success stories.”
Raddysh began the season as a bottom-pairing defenseman and even sat out as a healthy scratch in late October. But with injuries wreaking havoc on the Lightning’s blue line, he was given a chance to step up, and he’s made the most of it. He’s now averaging 21:35 of ice time and has become a key contributor on the team’s top power-play unit. BriseBois said he plans to hold off on extension talks until he can get a clearer read on where Raddysh’s game is at.
“I think we're going to wait," said BriseBois. "Not because it's going to be a life-changing contract but because you look at his play the first year with us, his play last year, his play at the start of season, his play now. I'm going to need a bigger sample size to know exactly how to value that going forward. I think ultimately that’s what it comes down to. I don't know what that dollar sign looks like. I know I want the player to stay here. We love the guy. He bleeds blue, and he’s helping us win. He's got 33 points in the last 25 games.”
The Lightning have been active in signing several defensemen this season. Veteran Ryan McDonagh received a three-year extension in early December, followed by a one-year deal for Charle-Édouard D’Astous in early January. Twenty-five-year-old JJ Moser agreed to an eight-year contract worth $6.75 million AAV on a deal that will take effect next season.