Dakota Joshua was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in July from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick. The addition of Joshua is part of an offseason attempt to retool Toronto’s bottom six to a have a bigger, tougher look to shore up the team’s depth for a deeper playoff run.
Last summer, Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer and needed surgery, missing training camp and keeping him out of the lineup until mid-November. Through a 2024-25 season marked by a lot of turmoil in the Canucks roster, the 29-year-old spent the year playing catch up, trying to find his game once again. The Dearborn, Michigan native finished the year with seven goals and seven assists in 57 games played.
Back at full strength this year, Joshua will be looking to put up the better numbers he’s certainly capable of. In the 2023-24 season, he set career highs of 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points. This year with pieces like Nicolas Roy and Matias Maccelli added to Toronto’s depth, he could definitely find those more consistent numbers once again.
Joshua was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2014. As he gears up to finally appear in the blue and white sweater, it’s clear that above all else, he’s back in town to bring his size and strength. The 6’3″, 206 lb. forward finished ninth in the NHL in hits two years ago with a career high of 244 across just 63 games. Last season he teammate Kiefer Sherwood surpassed him with a whopping 462 hits, but in 57 games played Joshua still managed to finish second on the Canucks with 193 checks delivered.
The expectation: 250 hits, 40-point pace
Is it ambitious to ask for Joshua to deliver career high numbers in his first year with the Maple Leafs? Maybe. But there’s no denying this is a sink or swim year for him. Entering the second year of a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $3.25 million, it’s up to Joshua to prove he’s worth the gamble the Leafs took in acquiring him. To do so, he’ll need to prove he can continue to bring the physicality he has the past few years, while also contributing in some form offensively. Sailing through what are likely the prime years of his career, it’s up to Joshua to show what he can do to earn one of the Leafs’ sought after bottom-six spots.