The Toronto Maple Leafs are working on a sign-and-trade deal to acquire defenseman Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
An agreement could be finalized Friday morning, according to Friedman.
Raddysh is coming off a breakthrough 22-goal, 48-assist campaign and is on track to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The 30-year-old Toronto native also led the Lightning in average ice time at 22:41 per game.
Raddysh would mark the second notable defenseman trade for the Maple Leafs under new general manager John Chayka, who acquired Emil Andrae from the Philadelphia Flyers in a four-player trade at the beginning of the week. That deal sent another defenseman, Simon Benoit, to the Flyers.
Established veterans Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Carlo, Jake McCabe, and Chris Tanev make up the rest of Toronto's defense core.
In addition to recalibrating their blue line, the busy Maple Leafs hired former Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller to replace Craig Berube on Wednesday.
