Former Vancouver Canucks Forward in Elite Company: Mistake Made by Trading Him?

Last week, after weeks of rumors, the Vancouver Canucks opened up some additional cap space by trading forward Dakota Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fourth round pick in the National Hockey League's 2028 Entry Draft.

The move did not sit well with many fans, some of whom decided to take to social media to express their displeasure with the decision to move on from the 29-year-old forward.

Recently, a new stat came out from Sportsnet that showed Dakota Joshua is in some pretty elite company, which will further anger those fans who were disappointed to see him go.

In a post on social media recently, Sportsnet Stats revealed that Dakota Joshua is just one of three players in the National Hockey League to register 35+ goals and 650+ hits since the 2022-23 season, joining his now former teammate Kiefer Sherwood and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

Moving Dakota Joshua certainly wasn't an easy decision for the Vancouver Canucks, but with the team tight to the NHL's salary cap the team wanting to add another forward to the group, it unfortunately needed to be done and with Patrik Allvin acquiring Evander Kane earlier this summer, who plays a similar game with a bigger offensive punch, it made the Dearborn, Michigan native expendable.

In Toronto, Joshua will reunite with his former St. Louis Blues Head Coach, Craig Berube, and will give the Maple Leafs some much needed aggression in their forward group and someone to protect their stars - Auston Matthews and William Nylander, something they lacked during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Source: Maple Leafs Daily
Newly Acquired Maple Leafs Forward Dakota Joshua is Officially in Elite Company