The Toronto Maple Leafs improved their forward depth by trading for left winger Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. In return, the Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] got a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL draft. In 57 games this past season, Joshua recorded seven goals and seven assists for 14 points, along with 193 hits. He missed the beginning of the season [https://thehockeynews.com/news/news/canucks-dakota-joshua-says-he-had-cancerous-growth-removed-from-testicle] recovering from a procedure that removed a tumor that was diagnosed as testicular cancer. In 2023-24, Joshua scored 18 goals, 14 assists and 32 points, all career highs. His 244 hits that season led the team and were the ninth-most in the NHL. Dakota Joshua (Bob Frid-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d174bca1-39ec-4725-b2a0-bfaebcf4d5ce.jpeg] Dakota Joshua (Bob Frid-Imagn Images) The 29-year-old center carries a $3.25 million cap hit and is under contract for the next three seasons. Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] now has $2.083 million in salary cap space, according to PuckPedia. This is a reunion for Joshua and the Maple Leafs. He was originally selected 128th overall by the organization in the 2014 NHL draft. Toronto traded him to the St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] for future considerations in 2019 before Joshua played his first NHL game. Joshua has played parts of five NHL seasons, including two with the Blues and three with the Canucks. In 241 career games, he's scored 40 goals and 78 points. He also has some solid playoff numbers, including four goals and four helpers in 13 contests in 2023-24. He was tied for third on the Canucks in goals while averaging 15:49 of ice time in those playoffs, when they lost in Game 7 of the second round to the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers]. This marks the third top-nine forward Treliving has acquired in this off-season. The others include Matias Maccelli, who was acquired for a 2027 conditional third-round pick from the Utah Mammoth [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah], and Nicolas Roy, who was the return from the Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights] for the signing rights of Mitch Marner. Joshua, Roy and Maccelli earn between $3 million and $3.5 million against the cap and spread out Toronto's forward depth following Marner's departure. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
