Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving made his second trade in a week, acquiring forward Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2028 fourth-round pick. The 29-year-old center/winger reunites with head coach Craig Berube and continues the changing makeup of the club.
Joshua has taken a circuitous route to play for the club he was originally drafted by. After being selected in the fifth round (128th overall) in 2014, the 6’3”, 206 lb. forward played four years at Ohio State University, but his size and sandpaper style did not match the direction that GM Kyle Dubas was going with the club, so before he was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent, his rights were traded to St. Louis for future considerations.
The next three years were spent playing mostly in the AHL, but Joshua played 42 games over two seasons under Berube with the Blues. In 2022, the Dearborn, MI native signed a two-year deal with the Canucks, where he thrived under head coach Rick Tocchet. In the final year of his deal, the big forward set a career-high with 18 goals and 32 points, earning him a four-year, $13 million contract extension.
Last summer, Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer and, after surgery, missed training camp and did not return until mid-November. This pretty much derailed his season, as he posted just 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 57 games.
From the Vancouver perspective, Joshua was more successful under Tocchet and appears to be undergoing a change in direction under new head coach Adam Foote. The move clears a $3.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons, something that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin may have found necessary after extending wingers Brock Boeser and Conor Garland, and goalie Thatcher Demko.
From the Leafs point of view, the trade for Joshua to go along with the acquisition of Nicolas Roy from Vegas gives Toronto more size and versatility in their bottom six. Joshua, Roy, and Scott Laughton all can play center and wing, and gives Berube players that fit his style better. A checking line consisting of Roy, Joshua, and either Bobby McMann or Calle Jarnkrok could be extremely effective.
It is also hard to imagine that Treliving is done tinkering with his roster. The Leafs have just under $3 million in available cap space, with Nick Robertson headed for arbitration later this month. There is some speculation that the 23-year-old could be moved once his price point is determined, and there continues to be chatter that Jarnkrok or David Kampf could be traded. If any of those moves are made, it would give Toronto more flexibility to add another winger like free agent Jack Roslovic or to re-sign veteran Max Pacioretty.
