General manager Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs completed a trade on Thursday to acquire former Leafs' draft pick Dakota Joshua. Toronto drafted Joshua in the fifth round, 128th overall, in 2014. They sent their fourth-round pick from the 2028 draft to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the bruising forward.
Joshua is coming off a subpar season with the Canucks following a health scare. The center did not make his 2024-2025 season debut until mid-November after being diagnosed with testicular cancer over the summer.
Joshua played in 57 games last year, scoring 7 goals and 7 assists. This came after a career-best season in 2023-2024, when he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games.
After that breakout season, Joshua signed a four-year, $13 million deal ($3.25 million AAV) with the Canucks. Vancouver, tight against the NHL salary cap, decided Joshua was expendable.
Leafs still need top-six forward
Taking a singular view of the trade, this is a strong deal for the Leafs. Adding an established NHL player to the lineup for the cost of a fourth-round pick is a solid move. A fourth-round pick that makes the NHL is a rarity.
Joshua strengthens the Maple Leafs' group of bottom-six forwards. He brings size (6'3", 200+ pounds), forechecking (193, 245, and 222 hits the last three seasons), and occasional offense to the third or fourth lines.
His contract is reasonable if he can contribute double-digit goals and bring a consistent, physical presence to the Leafs' forwards. Joshua is only 29 years old and is signed for three more years, until 2028, so he has an opportunity for a regular, bottom-six role with the recently resigned Steven Lorentz in support of top-six mainstays Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies.
The problem with acquiring Joshua comes when looking at the broader picture of the Maple Leafs' lineup. His salary pushes the Leafs closer to the salary cap limit. Toronto now has just under $3 million of available cap space.
His addition also gives the Leafs a glut of third and fourth-line forwards. Treliving needs to move one of David Kampf or Calle Jarnkrok, as their $2 million-plus salaries are not sustainable.
Most importantly, Treliving is running out of options to fill the team's biggest, most glaring need, a top-six forward. An already bare cupboard of few draft picks and prospects has become even more barren, minus another draft pick, with less cap space.
Treliving's options to replace the departed Mitch Marner are restricted to moving top prospects Easton Cowan and Ben Danford or trading away a significant roster piece from the team's defense or goaltending.
With the trade to acquire Joshua, the Toronto Maple Leafs have no doubt strengthened their depth up front, at a minimal cost. The team's most pressing need, however, still needs to be addressed.