Maple Leafs Once Gave Away Dakota Joshua for Nothing, Now He's Back to Prove Them Wrong

There was a time when Dakota Joshua was enjoying a stint with the Sioux Falls Stampede, putting in a solid USHL career before his name was chosen 128th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2014.

Expected to add some size and toughness to the team, he spent four seasons in the NCAA playing for Ohio State and putting together a fairly solid tenure that mixed toughness with scoring and leading to an NHL career.

However, as soon as he was here, he was gone. Joshua was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 2019 for future considerations, though within a year was signed to the team. His head coach? Craig Berube.

Those future considerations have never been finalized, and it might be even longer before we see what St. Louis will send back to Toronto.

But one thing is certain: Joshua is on the team now, and boy is he ready to get things going.

Although he struggled last season, that had a lot to do with his recovery from testicular cancer, and still managed to skate in 57 games, registering 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) but also added 193 hits, so at least the physicality was still there.

Joshua is only one season removed from an 18-goal outburst; the most he's ever scored in an NHL season by far and with the right pieces in the lineup, he should be able to do some damage.

Joshua excels at crashing the net and causing havoc for goaltenders, and if he can find a home in front of the net, then Toronto can (and should) let it fly from the point, or throw as many shots as possible at opposing goalies to give Joshua a chance to strike.

He's also going to give the team familiarity, at least when it comes to how Craig Berube plays, and the added physicality and toughness is going to be appreciated by him teammates, coaches and fans.

Plus, there's the added benefit that the Leafs kind of have a discount Brady Tkachuk when it comes down to it; albeit maybe not as offensive.

Dakota Joshua's game has a lot of positives around it, and while he might not jump off the page he may surprise many.

The first time around he wasn't even given a chance. Now he'll be expected to help Toronto end a now-59 year drought.