'Sticker Shock' Coming for UFA Darren Raddysh's New Contract

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh

The NHL's unrestricted free agent market this summer will be.. well, pretty restricted. With so many of the big-name extensions being signed by notable pending UFAs already this season, that leaves only a couple of high-end names to have the market all to themselves.

At forward, it's Alex Tuch of the Buffalo Sabres. And on defense, it's all coming up Darren Raddysh. The Tampa Bay Lightning's surprising breakout 30-year-old had a year that no one would have dreamed of coming into the season. Raddysh, in only his third full season of NHL play, has taken advantage of the opportunity he got this season in Tampa to post a 22-goal, 70-point campaign with a plus/minus rating of +22.

What can Darren Raddysh bring a team in free agency?

A right-shot defenseman who can really move the puck, Raddysh has been the quarterback on the Bolts' power play and leads all NHL defensemen with 10 goals with the man advantage. His booming shot from the point reaches triple-digits, and ranks in the 96th percentile in the league in shot speed.

Coming off the two-year deal that paid him just $975,000 a season, Raddysh will be in for a gargantuan raise as the top d-man on the market, having established himself as a legit top-pairing blueliner.

But just how much will he command on the open market? Insider Chris Johnston appeared on TSN's 1st Up on Tuesday, and talked about the 'sticker shock' that's coming for any team hoping to sign the 6-foot-1 defenseman.

The Lightning are going to do what they can to keep him, but, if we know anything about (GM) Julien BriseBrois and the way he operates, he's only going to go to a certain number. He's not going to bid against what the bids on July 1 will be.
Based on what I've heard from agents on what this guy could get on the open market, I've got back anything from $7 million a year to even as high as $9 million a year. You have to remember, the cap is going up.
We're going to see some sticker shock on July 1. There's not a lot of top-end free agents available.

In addition, plenty of teams need to address holes on the right side of their blueline.

The 70 points that Raddysh has put up this season nearly doubles his previous high of 37 set last year. And at 22:45 average TOI, he's also logged well over five minutes more of ice time per night than he did last season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been cited as one of the teams that would love to get their hands on him, as they've been in need of a top, puck-moving defenseman and true power play QB for quite some time now (with all apologies to Morgan Rielly, who isn't really all that anymore).