After a breakout season in 2022-23, Raddysh followed that up with a year that might have played him right out of a new contract in Chicago.
Not that long ago Taylor Raddysh was a promising forward for the Chicago Blackhawks until everything went wrong. The 2023-24 season was supposed to be a year for him to build his career in Chicago, but that opportunity was washed away.
Raddysh had a very strong end of the season in 2022-23 to reach 20 goals 17 points in 78 games. Along with Andreas Athanasiou, he was only one of two Blackhawks on that team to reach the 20-goal mark.
Then in 2023-24, the 26-year-old got off to a tough start by scoring just five goals and seven points in the first 29 games. It got worse from there.
Raddysh's final goal of the season came in his 29th game, at Seattle on Dec. 16. He scored no goals in the final 44 games of the season and only assisted on seven. He didn't finish some prime chances, being stopped by opposing goalies or missing the net. As the season when on, the chances seemed to dry up too.
This saw the once bright spot in the Blackhawks lineup drop down the lineup, play less when he was dressed, and sit out at times. Why a decision is easy to make now is because Raddysh is a RFA without a contract this summer.
There are some off-ice connections between Raddysh and Connor Bedard as they lived in the same downtown Chicago high-rise complex. Raddysh was around to help with the rookie's adjustment to the NHL and especially after Bedard suffered a broken jaw in Janaury.
Head coach Luke Richardson also lives in the complex, but just that isn't enough to warrant keeping Raddysh around because the NHL is a business and the Blackhawks need to get better. Bedard might speak up about his feelings on Raddysh sticking around, but he is also only going into his second season and will be 19 years old.
As the year progressed, players like Landon Slaggert and Frank Nazar made their NHL debuts. Taylor Hall is also going to be ready for the start of the season. With other potential offseason additions that should be in the mix, fewer roster spots will become available.
The Blackhawks are going to be a young team with some solid veterans mixed in. This doesn't leave much room for middle-aged players coming off a poor season to be given much of a chance. There is a possibility Chicago doesn't even qualify Raddysh as an RFA. This would make him a UFA and able to sign anywhere on July 1.
The Blackhawks did this with Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik a couple of years ago and they were more productive in their final season with the Blackhawks than Raddysh was in 2023-24.
Chicago has Bedard and he's already proven that he is more than capable of putting the team on his back. He is a generational talent that is going to get better very quickly. This puts pressure on the organization to surround him with good players that can help the team win sooner than later. After this rough season where Raddysh just couldn't seem to bounce back or snap out of it, he doesn't seem like the player that should be in the mix.
Raddysh is past the developmental stage and should've been able to build off of last season. Not only did he struggle producing offensively, he didn't add any more physicality to his game and blocked fewer shots. This isn't a sign of a player trying to do more in other areas of the game to make up for lack of scoring. His power-play time was nearly cut in half and that's understandable since the most productive offensive players deserve that time. On the flip side, he was moved into a penalty killing role. In reality, the Blackhawks can replace him there though.
Raddysh earned just $758,333 last season in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with Tampa Bay in July 2021.
Even though Raddysh could be re-signed for cheap as a league minimum contract is all he's going to get after five goals and 14 points, the Blackhawks have veterans and young players who would likely be more impactful.
