Blade of Steel has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL or NHLPA
Dakota Joshua Gets Brutally Honest About His Final Season with the Vancouver Canucks
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Dakota Joshua went through a rough time with the Vancouver Canucks last season, and his recent comments prove how hard it was.
Dakota Joshua was recently acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a nice and tidy trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
Canucks fans were angered by the deal, while Leafs fans were absolutely loving it. After all, Joshua is a solid bottom-six forward with lots of grit and even more heart.
Last season, Joshua struggled as his season was shortened due to a battle with testicular cancer, which kept him out of training camp.
He played 57 games and had seven goals and 14 points, a stark contrast to his 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games from last season.
Dakota Joshua gets honest about last season
While speaking to 'Leafs Morning Take,' Joshua was very honest about his struggles last season, and what exactly went wrong with the Canucks.
What's nice to see is that the forward did not make excuses. He took accountability, noting that his teammates were of great help during his health troubles.
That was a tough situation to go through. I was getting ready for training camp and had a good summer behind me. To go through that, especially after signing a new deal, was tough. There was a little bit of a period where I'm not sure how to go about it mentally, and then obviously it's tough news to break to everybody My teammates at the time were very helpful and supportive, which made it easier, but just having to miss training camp and then being behind the 8-ball from the start didn't really do me any good. It felt like I was playing catch-up the whole season. I'm definitely tougher for the situation and facing that adversity for sure, but also, [it's] a year I want to put behind me and keep moving forward. I'm very happy and thankful to be in good health now and once again try to build my career and keep going.
Fans will be happy to know that Joshua has a clean bill of health and will be ready to go for the Toronto Maple Leafs as soon as the season begins.
Joshua will likely be taking on a third-line role with the team, and if he can become a 20-goal scorer, then this trade will become an instant hit with fans.
This season is going to be fascinating, and players like Joshua will certainly make things fun.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 11 | 115 ANSWERS Dakota Joshua Gets Brutally Honest About His Final Season with the Vancouver Canucks Do you believe Dakota Joshua will have a good season with the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| YES | 103 | 89.6 % |
| NO | 12 | 10.4 % |
| List of polls | ||