The Toronto Maple Leafs have crowded the forward group, and Dakota Joshua has already found himself on the outside looking in.
According to The Fourth Period, Joshua is sitting at No. 23 on the early season trade bait list, a sign that his name is already circulating around the NHL. That comes after Toronto added a wave of forwards who can handle NHL minutes, while Joshua missed time early in the season with an injury and has been working to catch up ever since.
Since rejoining the roster, Joshua has played in three games, including the latest one, when he skated alongside Gavin McKenna against the Montreal Canadiens. Even with that return, he hasn’t done enough to force his way back into a firm role. The Leafs have already turned to Zack MacEwen, who has carved out an everyday spot and is doing it at a much lower cost.
That doesn’t make Joshua a bad NHL player. It just means he may not fit Toronto’s current setup.
He can still help another team, especially one looking for depth or willing to absorb his cap hit if a draft pick is attached. The question is not whether he has value somewhere else - it’s when that value turns into a trade.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period sees Joshua as a likely cap casualty for Toronto. That makes sense given his $3.25 million cap hit and the fact that he is signed for one more season after the 2026-27 season.
"With a plethora of forwards on the roster, Toronto is going to have to make space later in the season, and Joshua's name has already been circulating across the NHL. He has another year left on his contract, and he may ultimately be a cap casualty if the Leafs need to make other moves."
For now, no team has been formally tied to the 30-year-old. But he has only just come back from injury, and that matters. If he settles in and strings together a stretch of steady play, interested teams could emerge.
If Toronto moves him, it will probably come down to one of two setups: either the Leafs clear his cap hit for a draft pick, or he gets included as a piece to balance the money in a larger deal, much like Miles Wood in the Kirill Marchenko trade. Toronto is unlikely to “win” a deal like that unless Joshua is part of a much bigger move. The bigger issue is simpler than that - the Leafs need room to keep adding during the season, and Joshua looks like the kind of player who could be squeezed out to make it happen.
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