Maple Leafs acquire forward Dakota Joshua from Canucks for 2028 fourth-round pick

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This time, Dakota Joshua is sure to stick with the Maple Leafs.

On Thursday, Toronto traded to re-acquire its 2014 draft pick, sending the Vancouver Canucks a fourth-rounder in 2028.

The 29-year-old Joshua missed time early last season when diagnosed with testicular cancer, undergoing surgery to remove a tumour. The 29-year-old made his 2024-25 season debut on Nov. 14.

“Dakota went through a lot last season before the year even started and we were very impressed in how he handled such a difficult off-ice situation,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin. “Once healthy, he tried hard to help the team in many ways, and we want to wish him the best moving forward in Toronto.”

After Joshua was drafted by the Leafs 128th overall (that summer’s crop included William Nylander eighth and Pierre Engvall 188th), the physical forward did appear at rookie training camp for Toronto, hard to miss at 6-foot-3 and 200-plus pounds. But after a championship with Sioux Falls of the USHL and four years at Ohio State, he didn’t sign with the Leafs and was traded to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations, starting with that club in 2020-21.

The Dearborn, Mich., native signed with Vancouver as a free agent in the summer of 2022 and hit stride, playing 79 games. He then reached a career-high 18 goals in 2023-24, with an additional eight playoff points. Following his operation, the checking winger was limited to 14 points in 57 appearances.

Joshua was the Vancouver chapter of the Professional Hocket Writers Association’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. though it was a bittersweet recognition.

“It’s not a season I want to remember,” Joshua told the Vancouver Province. “It’s obviously an honour to be nominated, but I wish I could have put forth something better.

‘It means a lot just to be able to play and continue on the dream of playing in the NHL.”

Joshua was touched by the support he received around the National Hockey League following his return.

“In that first game (back), guys would come up to me and say: ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Welcome back.’ And that has still been happening since. It’s very cool.”

All the while in the NHL, Joshua has provided a muscular presence and had a memorable fight with veteran Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano a couple of years ago. Joshua, together with free agent signing winger Michael Pezzetta, is part of general manager Brad Treliving’s effort to toughen the Leafs lineup with an eye to playoffs against teams such as Florida.

Joshua is signed for three more years at $3.25 million US, the term and ticket part of the reason Vancouver traded him. His arrival leaves Treliving with just a bit more than $2 million of cap space at present.

The Leafs ended last season with one enforcer type in Ryan Reaves, but at age 38 and limited playing time, he was traded to San Jose a couple of weeks ago for young defenceman Henry Thrun.

— with files from The Canadian Press