‘Something Wasn’t Connected’: Dakota Joshua Explains Core Injury That Delayed Start To Season And How He Overcame It To Spark Maple Leafs

Dakota Joshua’s season debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in Vancouver carried the weight of a long recovery and the satisfaction of an immediate statement. Limited to roughly 11 minutes of ice time against his former club, the 30-year-old forward recorded a game-high seven hits and five shots on net in a 4-2 victory that capped a lengthy road trip.

The numbers also reflected the player the Leafs felt he could be when they acquired him in the summer of 2025 from the Canucks, a physical, forechecking presence capable of disrupting opposing cycles and creating space.

The road back from a season-ending injury in 2025-26 was longer and more uncertain than the initial timeline suggested. Joshua has been dealing with a core/abdominal muscle injury that originated at the end of last season and lingered through the offseason and into training camp. It never required surgery. Instead, it demanded extensive rehab, with the familiar pattern of promising stretches followed by setbacks.

“I knew it was bad,” Joshua said Monday after practice, reflecting on the moment the injury occurred in a game. “I did not know that it was going to take so long to recover from. And just being that area, like, I went to non-surgery also. It was just a lot of rehab. And then some days I did feel I thought I was back. And then it was kind of just ups and downs, ups and downs until, like I thought I was going to go through camp and then getting out there and getting at that pace and speed realizing that I wasn’t there yet.”

How did he know he was hurt? The abdominal injury occurred in a game with the telltale sensation the next day that something simply “wasn’t connected.” Adrenaline masked the severity during the game itself; the following morning made the limitation clear. Positive days eventually began to string together over the past month, allowing him to complete a conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies (four games, no points) before activation from long-term injured reserve.

“You just gotta rely on the work that you put in, and  the real test is, is going out there and doing it,” Joshua said. “And now it’s just trying to follow it up and just build off of that, and hopefully your legs and the body, comes along as it goes, and you get more into the season type of grind. That’s why you put in all the work to get back, so that when you are, you know, you can hold up and get that stability up.”

The performance was enough for head coach Jim Hiller to elevate him for Tuesday’s home game against the Utah Mammoth. Joshua practiced on the second line alongside Nick Paul and William Nylander, a look that could add some size and physicality while potentially easing some of the defensive load on Nylander.

Hiller explained the decision after Monday’s practice by pointing directly to the debut. 

“He played a strong game. It was the first game in a long time for him. We weren’t sure and we don’t want to give him too much, but talked to him. He said the wind was good, the legs were good, so we’ll see,” Hiller said.  “Maybe  he’s going to get a little bit more tomorrow night.”

Joshua has long described himself as a player who can move up and down the lineup.

“It’s nice to get a chance here early on and make something happen.” His role, as he sees it, is complementary: “Willy’s as dynamic as they come, so just being there for support for him and then getting a chance to attack when it presents itself.”

The Leafs are still searching for consistency after an uneven start, and Joshua’s return supplies a familiar element of physical engagement that has been missing. Whether the top-six assignment proves lasting will depend on if Joshua can provide consistency. 

Joshua on the second line probably wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card this season. But he certainly made a good first impression game-wise on Hiller and with injuries to John Tavares (lower-body) and Kirill Marchenko (lower-body) decimating options on the top six, Joshua is about as deserving as any other forward available at this point.

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