Toronto Maple Leafs winger Dakota Joshua has gotten good news ahead of his potential return to the team’s lineup.
Joshua has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury and has been on the LTIR since the season started. But it looks like his return to the Maple Leafs lineup might be coming very soon.
Maple Leafs Assign Dakota Joshua to AHL Conditioning Stint
Per the AHL transactions log, the Maple Leafs have sent Joshua to the AHL Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint ahead of a potential return to the big-league club.
Joshua is allowed to play up to three games with the Marlies, or stay up to six days with the team — whichever comes first. However, the team and player can mutually agree to keep him down for an extra two games as part of his conditioning stint.
Either way, it appears that Joshua is finally getting healthy and making his way back to the Maple Leafs’ lineup, which is good news, as he provides valuable grit and scoring from the team’s bottom-six forward group.
Dakota Joshua’s NHL Career
Joshua was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft with the 128th overall pick.
He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 2019 for future considerations and spent his first two years in the NHL with the Blues before going to the Vancouver Canucks, where he played for three seasons.
Joshua’s best season came in 2023-24, when he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games for the Canucks.
In 2025, the Canucks sent Joshua to the Maple Leafs in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2028 NHL Entry Draft.
In his first season in Toronto, Joshua skated in 55 games for the Maple Leafs, scoring 10 goals and 18 points.
It was a bit of a down year for Joshua, who dealt with injuries, but the hope was that he could bounce back this season under new Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller.
Unfortunately, his season started with injuries again, but it looks like a return to the Maple Leafs lineup will come soon.
Dakota Joshua Gets Good News Ahead of Maple Leafs Return