Dakota
Joshua
C · TOR · Balanced · Around average
- PAL
- 43
- WAR
- 0.9
- Value
- 34
- PTS
- 18
2025-26№ 184 / 615
Dakota Joshua (Toronto Maple Leafs) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Dakota Joshua
#81CPlays: Winger · 4% of faceoffs
Toronto Maple Leafs
HEIGHT : 191 cm · WEIGHT : 99 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : May 14, 1996 · Dearborn, United States
Drafted : 2014 · TOR · round 5, pick #128
Contract : $3,250,000 · 2024-25 → 2027-28 · Standard Contract (Extension) · UFA · Signing bonus $2,000,000M-NTC
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 55 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 49 |
| 2024-25 | Vancouver Canucks | 57 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| 2023-24 | Vancouver Canucks | 63 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 60 |
| 2022-23 | Vancouver Canucks | 79 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 60 |
| 2021-22 | St. Louis Blues | 30 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 |
| 2020-21 | St. Louis Blues | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| NHL totals | 299 | 50 | 47 | 97 | 230 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Vancouver Canucks | 13 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| 2021-22 | St. Louis Blues | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Playoff totals | 14 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | |
Dakota Joshua: our analysis
2025-26 season: 55 GP, 10 G, 8 A, 18 PTS, -2 +/-, 12:15 TOI. WAR 0.9 (184th of 615) · PAL 43, around average.
In 2025-26, Dakota Joshua, 30, posts a PAL Rating of 43 out of 100 (around average), and his WAR of 0.9 ranks 184th among 615 regulars, in the top half.
His strengths: penalty kill (77, well above average) and shooting (70, above average). On the other hand, power play (14, among the weakest in the league) and possession (27, below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: finishing (+2.0); his biggest cost: EV defense (-0.1).
A clear step forward: his PAL went from 19 in 2024-25 to 43; his WAR went from -0.1 to 0.9.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 34 (poor return) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Dakota Joshua's story
Toronto called his name at No. 128 in the 2014 draft, a turning point that set Dakota Joshua on a path from Michigan youth hockey to the NHL. Born May 15, 1996 in Dearborn, he grew up in a hockey household—his mother competed in the Michigan Senior Women's Hockey League and his younger brother Jagger also plays—and developed with Honeybaked at the U16 midget level before earning an invite to a USA Hockey select evaluation camp.
After 2011–12 he was taken by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL draft and spent two full seasons in Sioux Falls, contributing to the Stampede's 2015 Clark Cup championship. Though selected by the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL Priority Selection, he remained in the USHL to continue his development. Central Scouting placed him among North American prospects ahead of the 2014 draft, and Toronto ultimately used a fifth-round pick on him.
Joshua moved on to Ohio State for college hockey, producing 17 points in 29 games as a freshman and following with a 12-goal, 23-assist campaign that earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten recognition. His time with the Buckeyes included academic honours and a suspension after an incident in a game versus Michigan; he also helped the program reach the Big Ten tournament stage.
Professionally, his NHL rights were traded to the St. Louis Blues on July 12, 2019. He made his NHL debut on March 1, 2021, scoring in a 5–4 win over the Anaheim Ducks. After becoming a free agent, he signed a two-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks on July 13, 2022. Highlights with Vancouver include a Gordie Howe hat trick on February 13, 2024, and a four-year, $13 million contract extension on June 27, 2024.
A player noted for his combination of size and hockey sense, Joshua has alternated between centre roles and complementary forward assignments, offering both physical engagement and offensive support. His journey—from USHL champion to NCAA contributor to an NHL roster spot, and a return to Toronto via trade on July 17, 2025—reflects steady development and adaptability.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 11:10
- PP TOI/GP
- 0:00
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:00
- Pts/GP
- 0.25
- EV points
- 1
- Hits
- 17
- Blocks
- 0
- Takeaways
- 0
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 59.4 %
- Off. zone starts
- 39.0 %
- Faceoffs
- 66.7 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
14between 2 and 25 (80% range)
- Goals
- 6
- Assists
- 8
- Games
- 46
So far: 1 pts in 4 games. The team has played 19 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.30 pts per game (last season: 0.33).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Stable
- Points per game: 0.51 in 23-24, 0.33 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 19 → 43
Outlook, age included
→ StableAge 30: prime years
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 76 %
69
Depth
- SK
- Skating
- 54
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 88
- Confidence 80 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 61
- Confidence 80 %
- DU
- Durability
- 67
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 95
- Confidence 80 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 89
- Confidence 61 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 69
- Confidence 80 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 71
- Confidence 31 %
- PA
- Passing
- 68
- Confidence 76 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 78
- Confidence 76 %
- DF
- Defense
- 79
- Confidence 72 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 76
- Confidence 0 %
- EX
- Experience
- 72
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating54
- Top speed (35 %)34.7 · 52
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)3.349 · 60
- Distance /60 (20 %)16 · 65
- Speed consistency (15 %)34.1 · 59
ST — Strength88
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)4.608 · 79
- Body mass (50 %)0.998 · 89
EN — Endurance61
- Ice time per game (45 %)13.1 · 65
- Total ice time (20 %)661 · 64
- Shift length (15 %)40.9 · 54
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)11.8 · 64
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)1.507 · 61
DU — Durability67
- Share of games played (100 %)0.755 · 67
CK — Checking95
- Hits /60 (70 %)13.2 · 95
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)12.7 · 95
- Season volume (10 %)5.278 · 92
FG — Fighting89
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)1.853 · 89
DI — Discipline69
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.009 · 71
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.894 · 61
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.949 · 83
FO — Faceoffs71
- Faceoff % (85 %)49.3 · 74
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)13.3 · 45
PA — Passing68
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.555 · 68
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.336 · 62
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.071 · 79
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.248 · 71
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.369 · 68
SC — Scoring78
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.865 · 78
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.755 · 73
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.216 · 81
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.46 · 81
- xG per shot (10 %)0.087 · 87
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)9.909 · 59
DF — Defense79
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.006 · 74
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.145 · 81
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.534 · 79
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)0.075 · 85
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-0.955 · 85
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)58.1 · 75
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)3.035 · 81
PS — Penalty shot76
- Shootouts (60 %)32.7 · 76
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience72
- Career regular-season games (65 %)80
- Career playoff games (25 %)51
- NHL seasons (10 %)66
OV — Overall69
- SC · Scoring (20 %)78
- PA · Passing (20 %)68
- DF · Defense (20 %)79
- SK · Skating (12 %)54
- FO · Faceoffs (10 %)71
- EN · Endurance (8 %)61
- DI · Discipline (5 %)69
- ST · Strength (3 %)88
- CK · Checking (2 %)95
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 69 | 54 | 78 | 79 |
| 2024-25 | 70 | 53 | 76 | 79 |
| 2023-24 | 79 | 59 | 81 | 85 |
| 2022-23 | 74 | 65 | 76 | 79 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
0.9
wins above replacement
184 of 615
PAL Rating
43/ 100
Performance · Around average
257 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
34/ 100
Poor return
3.25 M$ · expected PAL 56
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 43
- Defense
- 55
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 46
- Creation
- 40
- Shooting
- 70
- Possession
- 27
- Defense
- 59
- Discipline
- 48
- Power play
- 14
- Penalty kill
- 77
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | TOR | 0.9 | 43 | 34 | 3.25 M$ |
| 2024-25 | VAN | -0.1 | 19 | 12 | 3.25 M$ |
| 2023-24 | VAN | 1.7 | 87 | 96 | 0.83 M$ |
| 2022-23 | VAN | 1.2 | 50 | 65 | 0.83 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
59/ 100
Average
better than 59% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
93/ 100
Elite
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
16/ 100
Low
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 172 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 42
- Shot selection
- 91
- Penalties drawn
- 77
- Puck management
- 65
Defense
- Takeaways
- 14
- Discipline
- 12
- Safe zone exits
- 79
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | TOR | 59 | 93 | 16 |
| 2024-25 | VAN | 50 | 61 | 40 |
| 2023-24 | VAN | 47 | 98 | 6 |
| 2022-23 | VAN | 84 | 94 | 40 |
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.9
wins above replacement
0.2 to 1.9 — 90% interval
184 of 615 forwards
+4.5 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +0.6
- EV defense
- -0.1
- Power play
- +0.0
- Penalty kill
- +0.1
- Shooting
- +2.0
- Penalties
- +0.2
- Average → replacement
- +1.7
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | TOR | 55 | 0.9 | 0.2 to 1.9 | 184/615 |
| 2024-25 | VAN | 53 | -0.1 | -0.6 to 0.7 | 432/596 |
| 2023-24 | VAN | 63 | 1.7 | 0.5 to 2.5 | 90/608 |
| 2022-23 | VAN | 79 | 1.2 | 0.0 to 2.7 | 122/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 79.9 km/h2nd percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 33.6 km/h13th percentileleague avg. 35.1 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 27th percentileleague avg. 20
- Offensive zone time
- 47.0 %93rd percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 8.3 km8th percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 2.91 km8th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 47.0 %98th percentileleague avg. 41.2 %
- Neutral zone time
- 16.6 %2nd percentileleague avg. 18.0 %
- Defensive zone time
- 36.4 %88th percentileleague avg. 39.6 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 517th percentile | 024th percentile | 0.0 %3rd percentile |
| High danger | 433rd percentile | 034th percentile | 0.0 %10th percentile |
| Mid range | 010th percentile | 054th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Long range | 031st percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
NJD
MTL
UTA
VANDakota Joshua: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Dakota Joshua have in 2026-27?
Dakota Joshua has 0 goals and 1 point (1 assist) in 4 games in 2026-27.
How old is Dakota Joshua?
Dakota Joshua is 30 years old: he was born on May 15, 1996.
How tall is Dakota Joshua, and how much does he weigh?
Dakota Joshua is 6'3" (191 cm) and weighs 218 lb (99 kg).
Where is Dakota Joshua from?
United States: Dakota Joshua was born in Dearborn, Michigan, United States.
What team does Dakota Joshua play for?
Dakota Joshua plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL, at C, wearing number 81.
Is Dakota Joshua injured?
No: Dakota Joshua is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Dakota Joshua?
Dakota Joshua produced 0.9 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 184th of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 43 out of 100: around average for his position.
How much does Dakota Joshua make?
Dakota Joshua earns $3.3M for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 34 out of 100 (poor return): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Dakota Joshua's contract end?
Dakota Joshua's contract runs through the 2027-28 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent. It includes a M-NTC clause.
Is Dakota Joshua overpaid?
Yes, his output falls short of what his salary should buy. His Value rating is 34 out of 100 (poor return), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Dakota Joshua a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 184th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is Dakota Joshua getting better?
Yes: his PAL rating went from 19 in 2024-25 to 43 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has Dakota Joshua played lately?
Over his last 4 games, Dakota Joshua has 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist).
What are Dakota Joshua's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Dakota Joshua has 299 games, 50 goals, 47 assists and 97 points. His best season: 2023-24, with 32 points in 63 games.
Where was Dakota Joshua drafted?
Dakota Joshua was drafted 128th overall (round 5) by Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014.
How does Dakota Joshua perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Dakota Joshua has 14 games and 8 points in his career. His pace (0.57 points per game) is higher than his regular-season pace (0.32).
Which player is most similar to Dakota Joshua?
Collin Graf: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Collin Graf's page →Is Dakota Joshua a good fantasy pick?
Probably not, except in deep leagues: our projection has him at 14 points in 2026-27, or 0.30 points per game.
Does Dakota Joshua have siblings?
Yes: his younger brother Jagger (also an ice hockey player).
Is Dakota Joshua related to anyone famous?
Yes: null (mother, played ice hockey in the Michigan Senior Women's Hockey League).
What is Dakota Joshua's nationality?
Dakota Joshua is American.
What awards has Dakota Joshua won?
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (March 2017) ; Ohio State Scholar–Athlete ; Academic All-Big Ten.
How many championships has Dakota Joshua won?
1: Clark Cup with the Sioux Falls Stampede (2015).
Where did Dakota Joshua play before turning pro?
Honeybaked (under-16 midget team; split 2012–13 season), Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL; two full seasons, 2015 champion), Ohio State University (collegiate).
How many points is Dakota Joshua projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 14 points in 46 games in 2026-27 (2 to 25 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)