The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired another forward.

The Maple Leafs have added Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick. The 29-year-old played 57 games with the Canucks last season, scoring 14 points (seven goals and seven assists).

The Maple Leafs selected Joshua in the fifth round (128th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. Toronto then traded him to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations in July 2019, after four years at Ohio State University.

Since then, the Dearborn, Michigan forward has appeared in a total of 241 NHL games, split between the Blues and Canucks. Joshua has played most of his games in the NHL with Vancouver, where he has dressed in 199 games, scoring 69 points (36 goals and 33 assists) in that span.

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Joshua is entering the second season of a four-year, $13 million contract he signed with the Canucks in June 2024. The annual average value of the contract is $3.25 million. After this trade, the Maple Leafs have just over $2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.com.

The forward's most productive year in the NHL came during the 2023-24 season. Joshua had 32 points in 63 games before coming up huge in the playoffs for Vancouver, scoring four goals and four assists in 13 games.

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Last summer, Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery in September, forcing him to miss the first few months of the regular season. He made his season debut against the New York Islanders on November 14.

"Dakota went through a lot last season before the year even started and we were very impressed in how he handled such a difficult off-ice situation," said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin in a statement. "Once healthy, he tried hard to help the team in many ways, and we want to wish him the best moving forward in Toronto."

(Top photo of Joshua: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)

The Vancouver Canucks have traded forward Dakota Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. Joshua had just completed the first year of his new four-year contract, which carries an AAV of $3.25 million. With the addition of a fourth-round pick, Vancouver now has eight selections in both the 2027 and 2028 drafts.

In a press release, GM Patrik Allvin wrote, "Dakota went through a lot last season before the year even started and we were very impressed in how he handled such a difficult off-ice situation. Once healthy, he tried hard to help the team in many ways, and we want to wish him the best moving forward in Toronto."

Joshua has spent the last three seasons with the Canucks. In 199 regular-season games with Vancouver, the 29-year-old recorded 69 points and 660 hits. Joshua was also a key member of the Canucks 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs roster, as he scored four goals and recorded eight points in 13 games. 

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The 2024-25 season did not go the way Joshua or the organization had hoped for. He missed training camp and the beginning of the season as he was recovering from off-season surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, while also missing some time in January with a lower-body injury. By the end of the campaign, Joshua had played 57 games, recording 14 points while throwing 193 hits.

While Vancouver did receive a draft pick, the main asset the Canucks acquired by trading Joshua to the Maple Leafs is cap flexibility. Vancouver now has around $4 million in cap space that they can use to strengthen their center depth. As for Joshua, he now returns to Toronto, which was the organization that drafted him 128th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. 

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Over the last 12 months, the San Jose Sharks’ goaltending has undergone wholesale changes. MacKenzie Blackwood is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche, and Vitek Vanecek won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers before finding his way to the Utah Mammoth this summer. Meanwhile, Alexandar Georgiev and Georgi Romanov are currently unrestricted free agents. All four of those netminders suited up for the Sharks during the 2024-25 season, and now they’ve moved on.

The only remaining Sharks goaltender from last season is Yaroslav Askarov, a highly-touted 23-year-old who they acquired from the Nashville Predators less than a full calendar year ago. Askarov’s potential seems sky-high; however, as history has shown, potential is far from a guarantee in the NHL.

He’s been a consistent high-end performer at the AHL level, whether that was with the Milwaukee Admirals or the San Jose Barracuda, but he’s been unable to sustain that high level of play at the top level of hockey.

With that being said, the Omsk, Russia native has had flashes of brilliance, but there have been moments where he’s struggled mightily, such as January 23 against his former team when he gave up six goals on 38 shots.

When free agency opened on July 1, Mike Grier made a trade to acquire his apparent battery-mate, Alex Nedeljkovic, from the Pittsburgh Penguins. While Nedeljkovic has had some success at the NHL level, his play has deteriorated since his rookie season with the Carolina Hurricanes when he was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy during the 2020-21 season.

Nedeljkovic brings a competitive spirit to the Sharks, famously sparking the Penguins after being pulled against the Flyers last season, with an outburst that then head coach Mike Sullivan credited as a turning point in the game.

According to Michelle Crechiolo of NHL.com, after that game, Sullivan told the media, “For me, that's just an indication of how invested he is. He cares. He's competitive. He wants to win. That's raw emotion, and I have no problem with that. Quite honestly, I thought he inspired the group to want to compete for him. I thought our team responded. I thought Ned was a big part of it.”

One thing to keep in mind regarding Askarov was the state of the defensive corps in front of him. The Sharks' defense struggled mightily regardless of who was between the pipes. Grier set out to resolve that problem this summer, adding the likes of Dmitry Orlov, Nick Leddy, and John Klingberg into the organization.

While this has led to a glut of NHL-caliber defensemen, it will create competition in training camp, which should push every single player to work their hardest, as it seems very few spots will be guaranteed. The Sharks have already moved Henry Thrun in order to attempt to clear the logjam, but more moves may be necessary after training camp gets underway.

The Sharks added another top goaltending prospect into their ranks, drafting Joshua Ravensbergen late in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. Although he’s not expected to battle for an NHL role for at least a few years, the move put Askarov on a timeline to prove he can be a top goaltender in the NHL. With just Nedeljkovic to beat, he has the opportunity to earn the starting job this fall with minimal resistance compared to last season.

Nedeljkovic told local media that he was surprised about the trade to San Jose, but he was also looking forward to a new opportunity. “Definitely very excited,” Nedeljkovic said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity to play some games and work with some new guys, get to know some new guys, and hopefully make some good friends.”

The Sharks took a similar approach, bringing in Georgiev last season, and although that didn’t work as intended, there’s always a chance that Nedeljkovic thrives in San Jose. With just a single season remaining on his contract, if he’s able to play at a high level for the first half of the 2025-26 season, Grier may be able to flip him for assets similar to Blackwood closer to the trade deadline. Otherwise, the Sharks only gave up a third-round pick for a player to fill a role this coming season, which isn’t a bad piece of business either way.

Last season, Nedeljkovic was the highest-performing goaltender of the Penguins’ trio. He split time with Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist, but the Parma, Ohio native started the most games with 38. His save percentage, .894, and goals against average, 3.12, left quite a bit to be desired but the fact that he outperformed the organization’s other goaltenders appears to be a positive sign.

A tandem consisting of a young, high profile prospect and a veteran looking to show he can get back to a high level of play has the potential to be a major strong point for the Sharks this season. At the same time, though, it could also be a weakness. As a result, goaltending will certainly be a boom-or-bust factor for the team in teal as they look to start moving up in the standings.

Photo Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

While the Los Angeles Kings try to build a roster capable of going deep into the playoffs next season, fans have begun to wonder what is next for forwards Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar. While general manager Ken Holland mentioned that extension discussions were going to get underway with Kempe, he delivered some not-so-positive news about Kopitar.

#GoKingsGo GM Ken Holland was on NHL Morning Skate w/@LaughlinSXM & @GordStellick to talk about re-signing Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe who are both on expiring contracts this coming NHL season

Full Interview:
🎧https://t.co/kUlFGXIamHpic.twitter.com/fB3XugX4DC

— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) July 15, 2025

Kopitar, who is 37 years old, has scored 440 goals and added 838 assists for 1278 points through 1454 games in his career. He has spent his entire career with the Kings, helping them win two Stanley Cups in the 2011-12 and 2013-14 season.

Kopitar is an aging veteran, but he has been a key part of the Kings' franchise for a long time. Maybe he is considering retirement, but if he shows any interest in returning to the Kings, they should be trying to get him re-signed. They will have plenty of cap space to get an extension done, and it shouldn't be an issue to get both Kempe and Kopitar locked down.

It was clear that Kopitar was the one who wanted to take his time before deciding on his future, but it's interesting to note that he could be heading into the 2026 offseason as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) if a deal doesn't get done.

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