For $3.25M, the Leafs need more than 5 shots in 8 games from Dakota Joshua
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Acquired this offseason to add more physicality and a new offensive dynamic to the bottom-six, Dakota Joshua's quiet start has raised some concerns from Leafs Nation especially when it comes to his contract.
There was a lot of optimism from fans this offseason as the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to change their identity and bring in some new faces to add more grit, physicality, and toughness.
One of those players was Dakota Joshua, and while there are obviously some growing pains, he hasn't fully delivered the two-way impact fans hoped for yet, even though he does lead the team in hits by a fair margin.
But his offense has been a bit slow to start and with only five points in 19 games thus far, fans are starting to question whether he's worth the price and some new stats are only going to further the debate.
Since Nov. 1, he has only five shots on goal over an eight-game stretch, a big drop from his shot pace in October.
What Dakota Joshua's quiet November really says about his role
Compare that to his first 11 games where he had at least one shot on goal except for one, and his 18 shots this year are clearly skewed from his October performance.
Fans are taking an issue with that because at a price of $3.25-million, they would like a bit more offensive potential from their bottom-six power forward. Last year, the team got at least some production from guys like Max Pacioretty, who made a third of what Joshua currently makes.
It's not like he can't score, he has back to back double digit goal seasons in his career including an 18-goal outburst in 2023 to also go along with a plus-19, 40 blocks and 245 hits.
That's the player Toronto envisioned when they acquired him for a 2028 fourth-round pick, and he'll need to get back to that level of production if he's going to have any success this year.
What the Leafs should actually do if this doesn't change
The first thing the team should do is just give him a break. Let him sit for a game or two and get his focus back. There's nothing wrong with being a healthy scratch and as we've seen with the likes of Nick Robertson -- it could be beneficial.
Joshua looked good early on alongside Nic Roy and finally felt like he was getting comfortable, but injuries have bounced him around the lineup and he looks a bit out of place.
But if they do sit him and he still doesn't produce then the team may need to think about whether or not they can find any potential buyers.
This could start to feel like a 'Ryan Reaves' situation where Toronto is stuck overpaying a player who doesn't produce offensively, offers a one-dimensional role, and is potentially a consistent scratch.
Both Joshua and Toronto would like to avoid that, but the responsibility lies on the forward to start generating offense to even prevent that possibility.
There are still 63 games left in the 2025-26 season, with an Olympic break thrown in to give the majority of players a chance to relax and rest before the tail end of the year.
So Dakota Joshua and the Maple Leafs still have a lot of time to turn it around but the longer this quiet stretch lasts, the louder the questions about his contract are going to get.
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