The Darren Raddysh Debate Misses What the Maple Leafs Need

The Darren Raddysh debate started with a pretty simple question: Should the Toronto Maple Leafs’ new No. 1 defenceman have been included among the top 20 defencemen in the NHL? One ranking said no, and the reaction from Maple Leafs fans was pretty predictable. There were plenty of “Nope” responses, along with one reader asking the obvious question: If Raddysh belongs in the top 20, which defenceman should he replace? That’s a fair question. Raddysh had an outstanding season in Tampa Bay, but one great offensive season doesn't suddenly make him Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes or Zach Werenski.

Raddysh isn’t a bad defenceman, just perhaps not in the top-20 one.

And that's really where some of the criticism of the Leafs comes from. Fans aren't necessarily saying Raddysh is a bad defenceman. They're questioning whether he should be the guy Toronto is counting on as its new No. 1. There’s a difference. If the expectation is that a No. 1 defenceman must be one of the 20 best individual defencemen in the NHL, then Raddysh is going to have a tough time winning that argument. Some fans are also looking at the contract and wondering whether Toronto has paid too much for a player coming off one big season. Those are legitimate concerns, especially when the player is being asked to take on a much bigger role.

But here's where the discussion gets interesting. The Maple Leafs don't actually need to build a blue line made up of six highly ranked defencemen. They need to build a defence that works as a unit. That's a different exercise. One defenceman might be the better offensive player. Another might be the better shutdown defender. Someone else might move the puck, kill penalties, block shots or provide the physical element. The goal isn't to win six separate arguments about which player is better. It's to put together six players whose strengths complement each other.

What Raddysh can do will be a tipping point for the Maple Leafs’ success.

That's why the Raddysh debate might eventually matter a lot less than people think. Maybe he's not a Top-20 defenceman. Maybe he never will be. But if he can move the puck, create offence and handle the larger role Toronto has given him, he could still be exactly the piece the Maple Leafs were looking for. His individual ranking won't tell us whether the move worked. What matters is whether Raddysh makes the defence around him better and whether the entire group gives Toronto something it didn't have before.

And maybe that's the part of the Maple Leafs' roster construction that's easy to miss. Fans naturally look at players one at a time and ask, “Is this guy good enough?” That's a good question, but it isn't necessarily the most important one anymore. The better question might be whether the pieces fit together.

Darren Raddysh doesn't have to be a Top-20 defenceman to be a good addition for Toronto. He just has to be the right defenceman for the role the Maple Leafs need him to play. And that is something we won't find out from a ranking. We'll find out when the whole blue line is on the ice together.