With money still left to spend due to trading Mitch Marner, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a bottom-six splash on July 17. They acquired left-winger Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick, per the team. The 29-year-old had 14 points in 57 games last season and carries a $3.25 million cap hit through 2027–28. Interestingly, he was selected by the Maple Leafs 128th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, but was later dealt to the St. Louis Blues for “future considerations.”
TRADE: We’ve acquired forward Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft pic.twitter.com/HutDzsKmuh
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 17, 2025
Since the 2025 trade deadline, the Maple Leafs have added three fairly highly regarded bottom-six forwards: Scott Laughton, Nicolas Roy, and now Joshua. Following the early seasons of the Auston Matthews era, it became hard to pursue and keep these types of players. But now, with a rising salary cap and Marner’s deal off the books (and John Tavares’ more than halved), they can afford the luxury of high-paid depth—the three make $9.25 million against the cap, combined.
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Focusing on Joshua, he had a stellar 2023–24 campaign, recording 32 points and a plus-19 rating in 63 games whilst playing third-line minutes. His 21.43% shooting clip proved to be unsustainable, unfortunately, seeing an 11-goal decline in 2024–25.
Toronto won’t be relying on Joshua for his goal-scoring, though—he’s a heavy-hitting presence, which should be welcomed by head coach Craig Berube (who he played for briefly in the early 2020s). Additionally, he’s averaged 1:12 of ice time per game on the penalty kill over the past two seasons, according to Natural Stat Trick. Perhaps most importantly, he’s an inspirational story, recovering from testicular cancer in 2024.
The Canucks are getting cap relief, mainly. But also, Joshua’s departure opens up a spot for a younger forward to take his place. A fourth-round draft pick three summers from now isn’t exactly an ideal return, but they’re getting something of value on top of cap space and roster flexibility.
