Breaking Trade: Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Dakota Joshua

Better late than never. The Toronto Maple Leafs were very interested in physical forward Dakota Joshua last summer when he was days away from becoming a free agent. He re-signed then with the Vancouver Canucks, but one year later, the Leafs have now acquired him in a trade.

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

Joshua signed a four-year deal with a $3.25M cap hit last summer with Vancouver, coming off a breakthrough 18-goal season. His 2024-25 was a tough year, as he beat and recovered from cancer in the offseason, and missed the first month of the campaign. He also missed a few weeks in January with a leg injury. The Leafs have bought low on him, in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2028.

Projected #Leafs lineup after acquiring Dakota Joshua from Vancouver.https://t.co/wBenRose21
— NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) July 17, 2025

The 6'3" bruiser was originally drafted by the Leafs in 2014, but never appeared in an NHL game for them. Then-GM Kyle Dubas never signed Joshua after the player's four years at Ohio State. Current Leafs head coach Craig Berube, though, is familiar with him, as he played a total of 42 games in limited minutes for the St. Louis Blues from 2020 through 2022 while Berube was behind the bench.

The 29-year-old has recorded 660 hits in the last three seasons. His breakthrough 2023-24 season included 18 goals and 32 points with 245 hits and a plus/minus rating of +19, while averaging 14:23 ice time per game. He was rock solid the playoffs that year, with eight points in 13 games for the Canucks, while handing out 74 hits. This past season, he managed just seven goals and 14 points in 57 games.

Really like the Dakota Joshua trade for Toronto. Physical player, who performed well in the playoffs, and a $3.25m for three years isn't a difficult AAV to handle. He's a rare combo of physicality and some skill.

Curious why VAN would move him only for a 2028 4th rounder?
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) July 17, 2025

For the Canucks, there could be something else brewing now that they've created themselves some room under the cap. They now have just over $4M available.