The Toronto Maple Leafs just got more physical.
According to The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, the Leafs have traded for Dakota Joshua from Vancouver.
They’ll send a fourth-round pick to the Canucks in return.
Joshua is a 29-year old center who will be entering his sixth NHL season.
He was actually a fifth-round pick by the Maple Leafs back in 2014 out of Ohio State.
Joshua didn’t break into the NHL until 2020-21 with the Blues, for whom he played two seasons.
MORE: Alex Ovechkin gives a big update on his retirement plans
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound lefty has spent the last three campaigns as a mostly full-time player with the Canucks.
Joshua has 36 goals and 33 assists in 199 games in Vancouver, but his biggest role is to bring the grit.
Joshua’s hit totals over the past three seasons: 222, 245, 193. That’s 660 over 199 games.
Toronto’s fans certainly won’t mind a guy like that on the ice helping to punish the opposition.
MORE NHL NEWS:
