Maple Leafs Create More Options With Latest Trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs fortified the middle of their forward group with a recent trade with the Vancouver Canucks. The Leafs sent a fourth-round pick to Vancouver in exchange for rugged forward Dakota Joshua.

The move is the latest effort by the Maple Leafs to achieve a more balanced and rounded out roster. Joshua is a very different type of player than Toronto is used to having. He brings a fierceness, net-front presence and a heavy type of play that can be draining on the opposition. It's easy to see what the Leafs see in their newest acquisition, but where exactly does he fit?

The Leafs are hoping that they bought low on Joshua with the goal of a bounce-back campaign in 2025. Last season, he recorded seven goals and seven assists in 57 regular season games. The defining part of his last campaign was overcoming a testicular cancer diagnosis that kept him out of the first month and a half of action. After his return, Joshua took a while to get going and it was clear that the health issues he dealt with were impacting his game.

With Joshua now in the mix, the Leafs have myriad options to compose their bottom-six. He’s been a strong face-off taker in his career, winning 53% of the draws in his career. That could place him into a third or fourth-line center role, one where his line could be the checking, shutdown defensive line against opposition’s top forward group.

Joshua is also adept at playing a feisty game on the wing. With players like Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy also able to play center, the Leafs may kick Joshua out to the wing to focus on being more of a power forward.

One outlandish possibility is Joshua enters the Leafs’ top-six. Last season was a statistical regression, but the season prior was a breakout campaign for him. He scored 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games. If he can approach the 20-goal mark while playing a hard-nosed, two-way game would be a wonderful compliment to the elite talent of players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.

Overall, Toronto has multiple options with their newest forward acquisition. Wherever Joshua ends up fitting, he could wind up being an extremely valuable addition to the Maple Leafs in 2025.