Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien Brisebois name-dropped restricted free agent forward Taylor Raddysh recently when discussing how the team’s recent veteran departures up front combined with their limited salary cap space would push young, affordable players into regular roles. Raddysh’s new deal certainly seems to back that up. CapFriendly reports that the Bolts and Raddysh have come to terms on a new three-year deal with a $758K AAV, the structure of which implies the 23-year-old winger is set to become a lineup regular. The breakdown is as follows:
21-22: Two-way, $750K NHL, $100K AHL ($125K guaranteed)
22-23: One-way, $750K
23-24: One-way, $775K
Raddysh may not have any NHL games to his credit just yet, but the Lightning clearly believe that he is ready for the opportunity – and then some. A three-year deal, two of which are one-way and one of which is non-minimum salary, is more than Tampa needed to give to the untested forward, but seemingly wanted to display their faith in the big winger.
The 6’3″, 210-lb. forward is a rare homegrown prospect still in the Tampa pipeline, having been drafted in the second round in 2016. Raddysh was a well-regarded prospect, topping 100 points in the OHL in 2016-17 for a stacked Erie Otters team that included numerous current NHLers, including Tampa’s own Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak and brother Darren Raddysh. His offense has not slowed much in the pros either, recording 110 points in 159 AHL games, including scoring at a better than point-per-game pace this season.
With few right shot forwards pegged for a roster spot in Tampa Bay, Raddysh has an outside shot of cracking the roster right away this season. The big winger may have been blocked slightly by the recent addition of Corey Perry, but he also has a great opportunity to learn a lot from the talented veteran.
I did not realize that Raddysh was such a big kid. Look forward to seeing his NHL debut. Bolts will have to jockey the roster almost every night to maintain cap compliance through the season, similar to last season. The chase of a three-peat looks exciting.
I’m not sure if they would go this route but it’s possible they only carry 22 on the roster to start the year.Looking like Palat and Killorn will still be around but moving one would give them needed flexibility and also set them up with room at the deadline.Still way early though.
Palat only has 21-22 remaining and if the Bolts are out of the race for the Cup, he would be a likely candidate to be moved. Killorn has two years remaining. It will be interesting to see if they both return with steep discounts to finish their careers with the Bolts. Recall Palat plays on the #1 line and second PP unit, so the kids will have to earn their time in the top six by playing well in spots on the bottom six.