NHL Rumors: Will Darren Raddysh Test Free Agency or Re-Sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Will Darren Raddysh re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning, or will he explore free agency?

The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie on Embace The Tank episode on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s pending UFA defenseman Darren Raddysh. Will Raddysh hit free agency, or can they re-sign him?

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Johnston: “And look at Darren Raddysh, what a great story. He’s almost got to 60 points, right back.

McKenzie: “How does Tampa keep doing this man, it feels like every year there’s a defenseman they get that has become an everyday player that no one hears about, or at least has been very low on people’s radars. They just have amazing pro scouting.

Johnston: “Yeah, they probably have the best GM in the league, too, in Julian BriseBois. You’re right, you know, I’d say the reason Darren Raddysh probably won’t sign in Tampa is because they’re unlikely to be a team now paying him the opposite amount that season.

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I’m not saying it’s 100% impossible. Let’s see how things play out. There is still time, there is still time. And look, the Lightning have a history of convincing players to sign long-term deals and maybe take a little money and make things work. So, that’s obvious and as a result here.

But you know, they’re incredibly patient and smart, and they, they’re not afraid of a difficult decision, right? Like getting Ryan McDonough to waive his no-trade clause when he didn’t want to. It is the third consecutive Cup final appearance. I know since they need him. They moved on from Steven Stamkos, the franchise, after looking at ways to try to keep him.

You know, I’m sure, though, there’s a point that they’re going to go and save Raddysh. But if, if the market is too big for him, if the opportunities are too attractive, you know, they’ll let them go, and they will, they’ll work on getting the next guy.

I mean a lot of teams have to copy what they do. Now, I realize that I say that, knowing that they have a hard to find context. Like they got Nikita Kucherov in the second round and Brayden Point in the third round, even (Andrei) Vasilevski who came late in the first round. And then they keep those players for the rest of their lives. And they’re the core, and Victor Hedman and Stamkos and others that helped, you know, propel all those bowl runs.

So, you know, it’s, it’s easier, I think, to fill the margins if you have a main if you have big squares that are occupied by good people. But, yeah, I mean, Cap tip to the Lightning. Me, I have a lot of respect for them, the way they did, they managed to stay in the fight.

And, look, they’ve been feeling like, what’s interesting to me is the little plot of these championships, Colorado feels because they haven’t won a series, or won a single round, I think since then they’ve won the cup, right? Well, Tampa went to that bowl and lost to the Avalanche. They haven’t played in a cup since then, like they haven’t had a long run since then.

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So, you know, while it felt like they were always in the mix, because they were two really good teams, that they both had play-off success, which they ran away from in recent years here, so I thought the urgency levels were very high.

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