Dakota Joshua was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The 29-year-old forward had 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) and ranked second on Vancouver in hits (193) despite playing in only 57 games last season. He missed the start of the season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer over the summer.
In 2023-24, Joshua set NHL career highs in goals (18), assists (14) and points (32) in 63 games. He then signed a four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million average annual value) with the Canucks on June 27, 2024.
“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,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Once healthy, he tried hard to help the team in many ways, and we want to wish him the best moving forward in Toronto.”
Joshua was originally selected by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round (No. 128) of the 2014 NHL Draft, though he never played a game for them. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations on July 12, 2019.
Joshua has 78 points (40 goals, 38 assists) in 241 regular-season games with the Blues and Canucks, and eight points (four goals, four assists) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
This is the latest trade the Maple Leafs have made so far in the past month. They first acquired forward Matias Maccelli in a trade with the Utah Mammoth on June 30 for a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. They then acquired forward Nicolas Roy from the Vegas Golden Knights on July 1 for forward Mitch Marner, and defenseman Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks on July 10 for forward Ryan Reaves.
