Slowly but surely, the 2025-26 Maple Leafs roster is starting to take shape.
On Thursday afternoon, Brad Treliving acquired Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2028 fourth round pick. Indisputably, the 29-year-old power forward, who was actually drafted by the Leafs roughly a decade ago, will add depth to Toronto’s bottom-six —specifically line three. The move made a lot of sense.
That’s where the conversation started on the latest summer edition of Leafs Morning Take. Now that Joshua’s in the mix, what now? On top of that, what does all this mean for the likes of Nick Robertson, David Kampf, and Calle Jarnkrok? Suddenly, there’s a log jam on the left side, something this team hasn’t had in a long time. There’s no doubt there’s more to come. At the very least, they will need to move a few bodies out. Suffice it is to say, things don’t look too good for Nick Robertson right now. At the end of the day, it’s a numbers game.
Furthermore, we talked about all the social media trolls trying to compare Mitch Marner to the new players Toronto’s brought in the past few weeks. It’s not a trade, it’s an attempt at trying to balance out the roster. The vision is there, and it’s not a terrible approach. Afterall, the hockey world’s been saying for years that the Leafs can’t win with a Core Four making all that money. Now, they’re saying they can’t win because they don’t have enough high-end star power. PICK A SIDE. Ridiculous stuff, but that’s why it’s important to take anything you see on social media with a grain of salt.
Then, brought to you by
GRETA BAR YYZ, we played our interview that we conducted late last week with Ryan Reaves. As per usual, he was candid and honest. Obviously, we addressed all the Marner stuff and if subsequently had anything to do with Reavo’s exit out of Toronto. Additionally, we looked back at his time in Toronto and some of the highlights from his tenure. Reaves really wants to get to 1000 games. He’s 88 away. We wish him the very best in San Jose!
We’ll be back on Wednesday at 11 AM ET for another edition of Leafs Morning Take.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube channel
HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too —wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!
