The Toronto Maple Leafs have been aggressively adding to their roster this offseason, but the team could soon trade players off the roster.
New general manager John Chayka has been bolstering the Maple Leafs’ roster after last year’s playoff disappointment. Yet, Toronto does have an excess of forwards, so they could look to trade some away, and Maple Leafs analyst Steve Dangle believes the team could look to trade gritty forward Dakota Joshua.
“Maybe the Leafs move off of a contract like Dakota Joshua. Dakota Joshua makes $3.25 million this season and next, and I kind of wondered that,” Dangle said on his YouTube channel. “When he was healthy, I liked that player. His effective stretches were very good. But, in a lot of roster previews that I have seen people putting together, Steven Lorentz isn’t even in the lineup, that is not even taking considertion that Bo Groulx might not even make this team. Leafs could lose him to waivers. If you are able to get value for Dakota Joshua and get out from that cap hit and replace him with other guys that are cheaper, maybe you do it.”
Joshua has two years left on his four-year, $13 million deal, and given he’s likely a third or fourth-liner, and Toronto signed plenty of those, he could be someone the Maple Leafs look to trade.
Although the return wouldn’t be much – likely a mid-round pick – clearing his cap space is the bigger reason for a trade, as Toronto is over the cap right now.
Joshua recorded 10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points in 55 games last season with the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs Were Active in Free Agency
Toronto was active on July 1 as free agency opened.
Chayka said the Maple Leafs needed to add more depth to their roster, which is what they did. Toronto signed star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, but did sign bottom-six forwards Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime, while trading for bottom-six forward Nick Paul and signing middle-six forward Jack Roslovic.
We think we’ve got some good stability through our lineup now. If we can add difference makers, I think we should always be trying to do that. And it does feel like there might be more liquidity in the market in these July, August months,” Chayka said on Real Kyper & Bourne.
Although the Maple Leafs focused on adding depth, Chayka said he’s still going after the big names to bolster their lineup.
“Purely philosophically, I think a general manager’s job is to star-hunt, first and foremost. This game can be changed by a few top players making a big impact on a franchise, so the depth piece matters, how you fill out a roster, how you manage the cap, that’s all necessary but not maybe sufficient,” Chayka said. “I think about the role of the general manager and their ability to go out and big-game hunt and I think that’s kind of priority No. 1.”
What else Toronto is looking at is unclear, but Chayka is keeping the door open for bigger moves.
Toronto’s Active Offseason
Since Chayka has taken over as GM, he’s flipped over the Maple Leafs’ roster.
Toronto’s moves this offseason are as follows:
- Win the draft lottery, select Gavin McKenna first overall.
- Trade Joseph Woll, Simon Benoit to Flyers for Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae, 2026 3rd-round pick.
- Sign-and-trade for Darren Raddysh, eight-year, $68M deal.
- Trade Ersson to the Senators for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
- Trade Brandon Carlo to the Blues for 73rd and 76th overall picks in 2026 NHL Draft.
- Deals Nick Robertson to the Penguins for a 2028 fourth-round pick.
- Sign Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21M deal.
- Signs Jack Roslovic to a two-year, $8M deal.
- Inks Colton Sissons to a two-year, $8.5M deal.
- Re-sign Troy Stecher to a two-year, $2.7M deal.
- Sign Teddy Blueger to a two-year, $5M deal.
- Signs Brandon Duhaime to a three-year, $7.8M deal.
- Sign Zack MacEwen to a two-year, $1.75M deal.
- Acquire Nick Paul from Lightning for Dennis Hildeby, 2028 3rd, and 2027 4th.
- Sign Gavin McKenna to ELC.
- Signs Emil Andrae to a two-year, $3.1 million deal.
Analyst Hints at Maple Leafs Trading $13 Gritty Forward