VANCOUVER — Darren Raddysh was enjoying a nice breather after Friday’s intense Toronto Maple Leafs practice at University of British Columbia when he was alerted to some big news regarding a longtime teammate.
Nikita Kucherov — the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer and reigning NHL MVP — had requested a trade out of Tampa Bay, a dramatic step resulting from a contract negotiation stalemate with GM Julien BriseBois.
“I thought maybe it was April Fool’s Day,” Raddysh told Sportsnet.ca Saturday, following a rather necessary 4-2 road win over the Vancouver Canucks. “But, yeah, I know how he is, and I know how Julien is. And if they don’t want to come to something, that’s maybe how it’s going to go.
“I wish nothing but the best for both of them, so hopefully, maybe they get something resolved. Or they move on. But we’ll see.”
The Elliotte Friedman bombshell of Raddysh’s old power-play pal wanting to move on from the only club he’s played for has rocked the league and sent rival GMs scrambling to see if there is a way to assemble a package and pry the six-time 100-plus-point dynamo out of Florida.
“Obviously shocks everyone. Don’t know, really, what’s going on there,” another Bolt-turned-Leaf Nick Paul told us. “I mean, yeah, just was shocked.”
Once the shock wears off, the work begins.
BriseBois stated that he has no intention to trade his 33-year-old cornerstone. Yet the two sides remain millions apart on an extension.
Kucherov’s agent, Dan Milstein, tweeted that it is “unlikely” his client will follow the path of Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck and stop suiting up for Tampa.
Coach Jon Cooper said Kucherov “wants to be a part of this team for this season and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves.”
The Russian star has a list of 10 teams to which he can approve a deal.
While the Leafs were defeating the Canucks and Canadiens defeating the Penguins Saturday, Friedman reported that both Canadian landing spots, featuring key Russians, would be considered by Kucherov.
The great trick, of course, would be compiling a trade package attractive enough to convince BriseBois to deal such a difference-maker to a divisional rival.
Of the two teams, Montreal has far and away a deeper and more varied cupboard of picks, prospects and players to deal. The Canadiens already have had interest in a Larkin blockbuster.
Toronto GM John Chayka hasn’t shied from blockbusters, though. His September swing of Matthew Knies–for–Kirill Marchenko was aided by Milstein, who worked an extension into the deal.
Chayka also made a strong pitch for Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski in the off-season and has often gone on record about his desire to acquire game-breaking talent.
Never has a reigning Hart Trophy winner be traded in-season.
The Maple Leafs would need to shed a significant chunk of their committed 2027-28 salary and part with what little is left of their minimal trade pieces to make such a pie-in-the-sky move work.
“That would be unbelievable to get him. He’s easily one of the best players in the world. And the way he goes about his business, I think it would be awesome to have him,” Raddysh said, smiling wide.
“It's hard to look into those things. You never know what's really going to happen,” Paul added. “But, I mean, he's a great player, and that’d be great.”
Captain Auston Matthews is just one the many of the league’s elite who has long admired Kucherov’s game. The Russian has a reputation as your favourite player’s favourite player.
Raddysh played parts of five seasons, including his breakout 2025-26, alongside the winger. And once the defenceman joined the Leafs, his new teammates wanted insight into the notoriously private playmaker.
“Just hearing what the guys here talk about him and all the questions that they have about Kuch and the way he plays, he’s in his own world,” Raddysh said. “Like, the season ends, and a week later he's on the ice two hours a day for the rest of the summer. And he just wants to be the best at everything he does.
“A perception everyone kind of has of him is, oh, he might be grumpy, or he might be angry at his teammates. But I think he just wants the best from each and every one. And I learned that pretty early on.
“If you're trying to do the right things, he's going to keep trying with you until you do it right. If you don't try, then he'll move on to something else or someone else. So, I think he just wants to be the best, and that's just how he operates.”
When Paul got traded from division rival Ottawa to Tampa in 2022, it was Kucherov’s work ethic that was most eye-opening.
“Just seeing him, what he does to be that player he is, what goes into that. He just works at it every single day,” Paul said. “There is a reason why he’s that good.”
And a reason that Kucherov will get paid by another team, if BriseBois doesn’t bridge the gap and up his offer.
“You know, I’d open my arms pretty wide to have him join,” said Raddysh, probably speaking for Toronto and, oh, about 31 teams. “But, yeah, to add him to this group would be awesome.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Jim Hiller was asked if the Maple Leafs have found a consistent identity this season.
“No, no, no. I don't think so. No, I think we've been inconsistent. Too inconsistent,” the coach replied. “We’ve had some great moments in games, and we’ve had some times where we just haven't had a good pushback. So, that has to be addressed.”
• Hiller juggled three wingers in his top nine well before the Saturday’s game had reached the halfway mark.
William Nylander was promoted to Matthews’ loaded top line, while Gavin McKenna, Colton Sissons and Dakota Joshua "were really effective" on an on-the-fly unit that has never practised as a trio.
“It's probably the most Gavin’s had the puck in the O-zone in a game,” Hiller observed. “It was dangerous. So, really like the looks of that.
“You get things mixed up a little bit coming out of different penalties. And once we got that going, looked like it worked pretty good. So, we stuck with it.”
The bruising Joshua led all skaters with seven hits and five shots in his season debut. McKenna was tied for second on the Leafs with three shots.
Toronto’s top nine remains in a permanent state of flux with top-six staples John Tavares and Marchenko sidelined.
“That’s a lot of minutes. It's not just that you're filling 10 or 12 minutes. Those are big minutes,” Hiller said. “So, yeah, I don't know that we're completely settled with that yet.”
• If you’re a casual hockey-watcher who can’t tell forward Elias Pettersson and defenceman Elias Pettersson apart by their sweater numbers, fear not.
Elias Pettersson’s nameplate reads “PETTERSSON” while Elias Pettersson’s nameplate reads “E. PETTERSSON.”
Boom. Confusion solved.
• Hiller grew up a Canucks fan in Port Alberni, B.C. In the ’70s, Hiller’s guy was Chris Oddleifson, the franchise’s second-ever captain. Then Wayne Gretzky popped on the scene one province over, and Hiller was kind of on the fence.
“I love being here. Friends, family, all that kind of stuff. I’ve got a lot of people in Vancouver that I know,” Hiller says. “First NHL game as a young guy, my dad brought me to the Pacific Coliseum. I remember that like it was yesterday.”
• About a 15-minute walk from Rogers Arena lies a sports bar called Malone’s. Every Thursday night they give away a free pair of lower-bowl Canucks tickets.
To win said tickets, you must write the name of any Canuck, past or present. Your hockey pseudonym must be one of eight selected. Then you must outlast the other lucky seven in a proper faceoff tournament.
Yep, they have a faceoff dot painted on the bar floor and a quiver of righty and lefty curves to choose from. Brilliant contest. Way better than a random draw or trivia.
