Although he was brought in for added toughness and grit last season, Dakota Joshua could become the latest trade casualty after Toronto's offseason spending spree.
Brad Treliving didn't make too many trades but the ones he did make didn't exactly come out looking like rainbows.
The Brandon Carlo trade was a failure and he's now gone, Matias Maccelli was a reclamation project that never panned out; he's gone too. The Maple Leafs have essentially wiped out every bit of the Treliving era in their quest towards finally bringing the team a Stanley Cup.
The one move he made that could be seen as a net positive was that of Dakota Joshua, who didn't immediately make an impact, but as the season wore on looked a bit more comfortable. However, a lacerated kidney suffered against Detroit derailed his year, and he'll have to bounce back in 2026-27.
Though, he may not even make it to the opening night lineup.
Toronto added several players capable of stealing Joshua's spot
Looking at what the Maple Leafs did this offseason, you can see that they potentially don't see Joshua as a stable option in the bottom-six.
Just this offseason they added Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons, and Brandon Duhaime. Add in Jack Roslovic who may be on the third line a bunch, and you're running out of room. All of them are offering a better defensive game than Joshua (minus Roslovic) while still adding the physicality; plus much, much faster.
Your first two lines are pretty much set with Matthews/McKenna/Knies and Cowan/Tavares/Nylander so you have a dogfight for the bottom. Paul, Sissons, and Blueger could all feasibly be on a line together but with so much centre potential, one of them is going to the fourth line.
Don't forget that the team also has Steven Lorentz on the fourth line, and several AHL players like Bo Groulx, Luke Haymes, Jacob Quillan, and Ryan Tverberg also fighting for bottom-six minutes too.
Suddenly you're looking at a team who has a well-stocked cupboard of defensively-focused players who all have specific roles - PK, hitting, forechecking, agitation - and it's hard to see Joshua slotting in without weighing the pros and cons.
Joshua could be part of a deal that brings in a piece that the Maple Leafs need
If he doesn't have a spot here, there's certainly a spot elsewhere for Joshua. He's not a bad player, just is being pushed out of the lineup and for a contender can still offer great forechecking, aggression, and some secondary scoring.
With Toronto needing help with some additional scoring or even adding one more puck-mover to the blueline, Joshua could be part of a package alongside a pick or a couple of prospects to take on a player. He can still be effective in the bottom-six, and he's still able to get you something as opposed to a strict cap dump.
Joshua still put up 18 points despite the serious injury, and he has an 18-goal season in his career so if teams wanna use him as a beefy screener in front of a goalie, he could be great at getting rebound chances or become better at deflecting the puck.
There's still a lot of talent in Dakota Joshua, but with the Maple Leafs transforming their bottom-six completely and bringing in players not only similar to him but better in several aspects, he could be next on the chopping block.
Should the Maple Leafs trade Dakota Joshua or keep him for their bottom-six?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Maple Leafs may have found the fix for Auston Matthews' declining production