The Toronto Maple Leafs made a plethora of depth forward acquisitions this offseason.
First, there was Nicolas Roy, acquired in the infamous sign-and-trade that sent Mitch Marner to Vegas, and soon after came Matias Maccelli in a deal with Utah.
Things then quieted down for several weeks before a mid-July trade with the Vancouver Canucks for gritty winger Dakota Joshua. Fans and the market were excited about Joshua’s potential, being a physical, hard-nosed player that’s shown the capability to produce offense at the same time.
That skillset, combined with his familiarity with Craig Berube, made it feel like he was set for success right from the jump in Toronto. However, according to team reporter Joshua Kloke of The Athletic, the 2014 fifth-round pick (128th overall) of the Maple Leafs has had his struggles throughout training camp.
“One of the Leafs’ few offseason acquisitions has flown too far under the radar through training camp. Practices and preseason will go by without him making an evident impact,” Kloke wrote.
“Perhaps that’s what the Leafs want: a player who can be defensively sturdy and chew up ice time. But Joshua also scored 18 goals in 63 games in 2023-24. And right now, he doesn’t look to have found that offensive touch in Toronto. Now, with time, that production could come. Yet if you were to pick one player who could take time to adjust to Toronto this year, Joshua seems like he’s at the top of the list. Keep an eye on him,” Kloke added.
The 29-year-old still has another three years remaining on the four-year, $13.25 million extension he signed with the Canucks in 2024.
Decisions to be made up front
With so many NHL-capable forwards in the organization, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have some difficult decisions to make in the coming days.
Despite his underwhelming training camp, Dakota Joshua remains a lock to be on the opening night roster, though the same can’t be said for several others.
Nick Robertson, David Kampf, and Calle Jarnkrok have all surfaced in trade rumors in recent months, and it’s very unlikely that all three remain with the Maple Leafs heading into the season.
General manager Brad Treliving would love to recoup some draft capital for one of these forwards, so we’ll have to keep an eye out to see if that comes to fruition before the puck drops on 2025-26.
