Just In: Canucks Star Forward Dakota Joshua reportedly Interested in Signing with Maple Leafs During NHL Free Agency
Toronto selected the 28-year-old forward in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft (128th overall).
According to reports, a former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick wouldn’t mind returning to the team that picked him in the 2014 NHL Draft.
The claims that Dakota Joshua wouldn’t want to come back to the Maple Leafs after the team moved him to the St. Louis Blues in 2019 are unfounded, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle on The Leaf Report.
🎙️The @LeafReport with @jonassiegel & @mirtle
and their special guest @domluszczyszyn @TheAthleticNHLTargeting #MapleLeafs Free Agent possibilities, to trade Marner or not, and Sheldon Keefe lands on his feet!https://t.co/XzsgwdBxwT
— Leaf Report Podcast (@LeafReport) May 30, 2024
The forward, who this season with the Vancouver Canucks set new career highs in goals (18) and assists (14) as well as four goals and four assists in the postseason, is said to be interested by a reunion with Toronto, according to Mirtle.
“Someone told me that Joshua wouldn’t want to stay in Toronto because he walked after playing four years of college and being drafted. It’s not true, I’ve been told,” Mirtle remarked.
“Toronto would pique his curiosity. He believed it would be difficult to break into the forward group at the time, given all the talented young forwards they had, and that by signing with another team, he would have more opportunities to play in the NHL more quickly. This is why he chose not to sign with Toronto when he was a pick. He took that decision for that reason.”
According to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali, the Canucks and Joshua—who can become a free agent on July 1—are not “close” to signing a deal.
In our opening segment, @DonTaylor5 and @DhaliwalSports reacted to @TheAthleticNHL Top 50 UFA list and Rick shared the latest he has heard regarding Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua. https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/B74Gh1v8TU
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) May 29, 2024
“Someone told me that Joshua wouldn’t want to stay in Toronto because he walked after playing four years of college and being drafted. It’s not true, I’ve been told,” Mirtle remarked.
“Toronto would pique his curiosity. He believed it would be difficult to break into the forward group at the time, given all the talented young forwards they had, and that by signing with another team, he would have more opportunities to play in the NHL more quickly. This is why he chose not to sign with Toronto when he was a pick. He took that decision for that reason.”
According to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali, the Canucks and Joshua—who can become a free agent on July 1—are not “close” to signing a deal.
In our opening segment, @DonTaylor5 and @DhaliwalSports reacted to @TheAthleticNHL Top 50 UFA list and Rick shared the latest he has heard regarding Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua. https://t.co/h4e2SKM7eJ pic.twitter.com/B74Gh1v8TU
— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) May 29, 2024
Joshua played 42 games for the St. Louis Blues between 2021 and 2022, serving as head coach of the Maple Leafs at the time, Craig Berube. It’s possible that Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi will become available on the free market. Joshua might become Toronto’s target if that occurs.
The only other forwards who require a new contract with the Maple Leafs for the upcoming campaign are Connor Dewar, Nick Robertson, and Noah Gregor, all of whom are restricted free agents.
