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What the Dakota Joshua trade means for the Canucks

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By Tyson Cole | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 1:22 PM ET

On Thursday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks made the difficult decision to move on from power forward Dakota Joshua.

In Joshua’s short time in Vancouver, he became a fan favourite for his shattering hits and timely goals. However, with so many middle-six wingers, less than $1 million in salary cap space and an abundance of Abbotsford Canucks ready to make the jump, General Manager Patrik Allvin had to make some moves, and the first one was sending Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While many aren’t happy with the measly return of a fourth-round pick, much of the opinion from the fan base is not to judge the trade until they see what the Canucks do with the $3.27 million of cap space they just created.

The biggest offseason need for the Canucks has been finding that lucrative second-line centre, something that every team around the league seems to be searching for. They’ll likely have to hit the trade market to find that centre, not to mention clearing more cap space than they already have, as true 2Cs cost about double the cap space that the Canucks currently have.

Unfortunately, there isn’t that perfect option sitting out there on the free agent market. However, shortly after the Joshua trade, Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal speculated on unrestricted free agent, Jack Roslovic.

Is there a match between the Canucks and Jack Roslovic?

There have been talks with the Canucks and his camp. https://t.co/uSfVyADjMy

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) July 17, 2025

Roslovic, 28, has played centre in the past, but spent much of last season on the wing. He tied his career-high of 22 goals last season, adding 17 assists for 39 points in 81 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. The Columbus, Ohio, native won 192 of his 355 draws last season, finishing with a 54.08 faceoff percentage.

Coming off a one-year, $2.8 million contract, Roslovic is due for a bit of a raise. AFP Analytics have Roslovic projected at a $4.1 million deal on a three-year contract. The Canucks would need to do some negotiating to sign Roslovic at a lower number. Although, given it’s more than halfway through July, Roslovic’s price should have dropped a bit. So, if the 6-foot-1, 194-pound centre chooses Vancouver, they could likely make the cap work now that Joshua is off the books.

In terms of what this means for the current Canucks roster, it opens up a spot on the wing in the bottom-six.

With Joshua on the roster, the Canucks’ bottom-six wingers were Joshua, Nils Höglander, Kiefer Sherwood and Drew O’Connor. But after Abbotsford’s successful Calder Cup run, there are a few notable players who are ready to make the jump to the NHL. At least the Canucks think so, as they’re confident enough in that to move off of Joshua.

In a vacuum, the fourth-round pick can be viewed as underwhelming because of how big of a fan favourite Joshua was in these parts. We’ll hold off judgment on the trade until we see what the Canucks do with their new cap space. But moving off of Joshua means the Canucks have some wiggle room to bring in another player at a position of need, while making room for an Abbotsford Canuck to potentially make the roster.

This article first appeared on Canucksarmy and was syndicated with permission.

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