The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are working on a blockbuster sign-and-trade that would see top free-agent defenceman Darren Raddysh head north of the border.

The news was broken shortly before 2 a.m. EST by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who said the deal wouldn’t be finalized until the morning.

Raddysh, 30, is coming off a career season with the Bolts, scoring 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games and adding a goal and an assist in seven playoff games. He has appeared in 249 NHL games with the Lightning, scoring 35 goals and 143 points, and scoring four points in 20 playoff games.

The 6-foot-1, 202-pound right-shot defenceman was ranked No. 2 on Daily Faceoff’s free-agent board, with Matt Larkin highlighting how Raddysh stepped up in the wake of Victor Hedman’s injury issues.

“What a remarkably odd career trajectory,” Larkin wrote. “Raddysh didn’t play a full NHL campaign until he was 27. He brought secondary offense to the Bolts for a couple years, but his role exploded this season with Victor Hedman struggling to stay healthy; Raddysh finished with a staggering 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games.

“He likely received down-ballot Norris Trophy votes. The Bolts have obvious interest in re-signing him, and he was vital cog this postseason, averaging north of 26 minutes a game, but Raddysh has never even earned $1 million in a season. His next contract will be a true life-changer, so Tampa’s offer will have to be significant in dollars and term to keep him from going to market. Why wouldn’t you if you were Raddysh?”

If the deal is able to get over the finish line, the Leafs will have the ability to sign Raddysh to an eight-year contract, PuckPedia highlighted, noting that teams have until Sept. 15 to sign a player to a deal that long. The newest collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NHL Players’ Association will cap player contracts at seven years.

Raddysh is coming off his third NHL contract, a two-year deal paying him $975,000. AFP Analytics, a website that projects contracts for NHL players, projected the Toronto, Ont., native to sign a six-year deal carrying an $8.037 million cap hit, the fourth-largest dollar amount for any unrestricted free agent, and the second-highest among defencemen.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.