The acquisition that puts the Toronto Maple Leafs over the top

Darren Raddysh is heading for free agency, and the Maple Leafs are exactly the kind of team that should be intrigued.

Jason Gregor relayed the read from Tampa insider Erlendsson, who expects Raddysh to test the open market this summer.

For a Toronto club that allowed 299 goals and finished 28th overall, any defenseman who can move the needle deserves a long look.

And Raddysh can move it. He put up 70 points with a plus-21 on a $975,000 cap hit, including 26 power-play points. That's a steal of a season.

The trouble for the Leafs is that the steal price is about to vanish.

The full quote lays out how the breakout happened in Tampa, and why he's ready to cash in.

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Toronto's problem was goals against, not offense

Start with the temptation, because it's real. Raddysh's 26 power-play points would instantly lead every Toronto defenseman. Morgan Rielly, the current quarterback, managed just 6 power-play points in a down year.

Drop Raddysh onto that top unit and the Leafs' man advantage gets a jolt. On paper, the fit is obvious.

Here's the catch, though. Toronto's issue was never scoring. It was keeping pucks out of its own net, and the blue line is the reason.

Rielly finished minus-18, the group skews old with names like Oliver Ekman-Larsson at 34, and the whole unit leaked all season. Adding another offense-first defenseman doesn't fix that.

Raddysh did improve his defending, by Erlendsson's account, but that's the newer part of his game. Paying a premium and hoping it holds is a bet, not a solution.

The cap squeeze makes it harder. Toronto already carries Rielly at $7.5 million and William Nylander at $11.5 million up front. Fitting Raddysh's raise means squeezing somewhere.

There's also the coaching unknown. With a new bench boss incoming, how a free agent gets used depends on a system nobody's seen yet.

Here's my read for the Leafs: Raddysh is tempting on the power play and risky everywhere else. A 70-point season inflated by injuries and special teams is the kind teams overpay for and regret.

If Toronto makes an offer, it should be on its terms, with sane money and term. Chase the upside, but remember the actual need is defense.

Whoever signs him bets the leap was real. For a team with bigger questions looming, that's a bold place to spend.

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