If the Vancouver Canucks can’t re-sign Dakota Joshua, there’s another Canadian team that would be happy to take him.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will go after the winger if he makes it to the open market at the start of July.
“No shortage of teams will be in on Joshua if he hits July 1. I’m hearing double-digit teams, Don. Couple teams I heard going after Joshua are going to be the Maple Leafs and the Blackhawks,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on the Donnie & Dhali show today.
The 28-year-old had a breakout season with 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games. He scored the same number of five-on-five goals as Canucks star Elias Pettersson, who will make $11.6 million next year.
While Joshua made it clear that he would love to stay in Vancouver at his year-end exit interview, it’s been reported that the two sides were not close during initial contract talks.
While things can change quickly, it seems likely that Joshua will hit free agency on July 1. Among his many suitors will be the Leafs, who originally selected the player in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL draft.
Joshua is a big-body winger with soft hands who could move around the Leafs lineup. While he played mostly in the bottom six for the Canucks, he’d be an intriguing fit in a higher role.
The American has also developed into a strong penalty killer and scored some huge goals in the postseason. His ability to raise his play when it mattered most will indubitably be attractive to the Leafs.
DAKOTA FREAKING JOSHUA
CANUCKS LEAD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9KaOnrNddf
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2024
Joshua is likely to earn somewhere between $3 and $4 million on his next contract. The Leafs have nearly $20 million in cap space but also have to deal with internal pending free agents like Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi.