Fans react to Dakota Joshua’s rumored interest in joining Toronto Maple Leafs

Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July if a contract extension is not reached beforehand. Meanwhile, reports have linked Joshua to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that originally drafted him in 2014.

While Dakota Joshua was a draft pick of the Leafs, he did not sign with the franchise at the time. Instead, he made his NHL debut in 2021 with the St. Louis Blues.

Now with reports indicating a potential move for Dakota to the franchise that drafted him, fans were quick to react on the internet. Some fans were not very pleased with the idea and took subtle jabs at the player and the Leafs on X:

“It’s nice that he’s dedicated to losing… good for him.”

“Didn’t enjoy 2 rounds of playoffs I guess,” commented one fan.

“He wants to lose in the first round every year?” Asked another user.

Meanwhile, some fans found the potential fit to be a good one and welcomed the idea. However, some pointed out that money will be a major factor when it comes to the deal.

“I like the fit, the money will be the deciding factor as always.”

“He is what you thought Reaves would be. Just he can actually play hockey and not just throw mean looks at guys from the bench. He’s not signing for less than $3m/yr, just FYI,” wrote one fan.

“All players do because the team overpays,” quipped another user.

Dakota Joshua’s contract situation with the Canucks

Dakota Joshua has completed the last season of his two-year, $1,650,000 contract with the Canucks. According to Chek TV’s Rick Dhaliwal, discussions between Joshua’s camp and the Canucks are ongoing, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

The Athletic’s Chris Johnston projects Joshua’s new contract could be around two years at $2 million per year. However, Dhaliwal believes this might be too low, suggesting Dakota Joshua could command over $3 million annually when free agency begins on July 1.

“This one, again, is a little low for me: two years and two million per. I want to say this about Dakota; not hearing the Canucks are close with Joshua sounds like a lot of work to do before a deal gets done,” Dhaliwal said. [H/T Canucks Army]

“[There’s] A lot of models out there showing Joshua could get over three million on July 1st. I don’t think the Canucks are comfortable going with three million for him,” he added.

Now it remains to be seen if Dakota Joshua will remain in Vancouver next season or start a new journey elsewhere in the league.