Tampa Bay Lightning's Opening Offer To Darren Raddysh Revealed
Darren Raddysh exploded onto the radar in the National Hockey League this season with a breakout year that saw him post 70 points on the Tampa Bay blueline. But the 30-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and has set himself up for his first big payday. He will be the top UFA D-man on the market if he makes it there.
The Lightning would love to keep him, but their first offer on an extension, as reported by insider Dave McCarthy, is unlikely to keep Raddysh in Central Florida.
My understanding is that the Tampa Bay Lightning’s opening offer to Darren Raddysh a few weeks ago was five years at $5.75M AAV.
— Dave McCarthy (@DaveAMcCarthy) June 13, 2026
Will be interesting to see where this goes.
McCarthy says his understanding is that the Bolts’ opening offer to Raddysh in contract talks a few weeks ago was for five years at a $5.75 million AAV.
For context, AFP Analytics projects Raddysh to be able to land a six-year deal with an $8 million AAV.
Certainly, Raddysh found a pretty nice home there on the Lightning blueline. He flashed his newfound confidence as their power play quarterback, while registering 22 goals, surpassing Victor Hedman and Dan Boyle to become the single-season franchise leader for goals by a defenseman. He also posted a career-high +21 rating and averaged 23:39 time on ice, tops on the team.
He had never topped six goals or 37 points in a season before this one.
Additionally, in his five years in the NHL (all with the Lightning), Raddysh has never cracked the million mark in salary, earning $975,000 in each of the last two seasons with Tampa. That's why this will be a very difficult decision for him. He would really like to stay, but it doesn't seem like the Bolts can match what he'll be offered on the open market.
He's already been linked to at least three other teams, but there will certainly be more out there that will have him on their radar if he makes it to July 1.
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