There might be a few Detroit Red Wings fans who are upset that general manager Steve Yzerman hasn't made a big move yet.
Thankfully, he avoided a potential disaster by not trading for the rights to Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh.
This week, the Toronto Maple Leafs locked Raddysh down to an eight year, $8.5M/year contract. A deal of this size would have made Raddysh, who turns 31 this season, the third-highest paid player on the roster behind Dylan Larkin and Moritz Seider.
It's not that Raddysh is a bad player. In fact, his 70 points ranked seventh among all NHL defenseman -- 10 points behind Moritz Seider. The big issue, apart from Raddysh's age and aberration of a season, is his contract.
Here's why it's a good thing Yzerman avoided this (potential) mistake:
Raddysh contract set to age poorly
Whenever a player punches well above his weight late in his career, speculation is almost certain. Raddysh nearly doubled his career high this season, scoring above 37 points for the first time in his career. To do so at any point in a career is exciting, but to do it at 30 years of age leaves a lot of questions yet to be answered.
Can Raddysh replicate this level of production? If so, for how long? Signing a 30-year-old to a contract of that cost and term is a colossal risk, especially for a team like the Maple Leafs. Raddysh is only making $50,000 more than Moritz Seider. Seider, for reference, received over 346 more Norris Trophy voting points than Raddysh.
If Raddysh can keep up his 70-point pace for more than half of his contract, that level of production will be huge for the Maple Leafs. But the likelihood of that happening is extremely improbable.
The deal is eerily reminiscent of Brady Skjei of the Nashville Predators' deal. Before his contract with the Carolina Hurricanes expired, Skjei had his most productive season of his career. Once the Predators signed him to a seven year, $7M per year deal, his production immediately regressed to the mean.
Last season, he finished with just three goals and 26 points in 82 games.
Red Wings will have to deal with windfall of Maple Leafs' gambling
No matter how the deal shakes out, the Red Wings will either reap the benefits or pay the price with Raddysh's production. The likelihood of the latter happening is slim to none, but, should it happen, it's important to note that it won't be much of an impact for long. Sure, the Maple Leafs may squeeze out a productive season or two, but it's not likely that Raddysh's production keeps up beyond a couple years at most.
All in all, while the free agency market grows thinner, the Red Wings stand to benefit from dodging this $68M
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