According to reports, a former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick wouldn’t mind returning to the team that picked him in the 2014 NHL Draft. The claims that Dakota Joshua wouldn’t want to come back to the Maple Leafs after the team moved him to the St. Louis Blues in 2019 are unfounded, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle on The Leaf Report. The forward, who this season with the Vancouver Canucks set new career highs in goals (18) and assists (14) as well as four goals and four assists in the postseason, is said to be interested by a reunion with Toronto, according to Mirtle.
Some have stated that Joshua wouldn’t want to play in Toronto because he walked during his four years as a collegiate player and got drafted. It’s not true, I’ve been told,” Mirtle remarked.
“Hockey has been my life’s work and to be able to come home to Toronto and bookend my playing career where it started was incredible,” Spezza, 38, said in a statement obtained by ESPN.
After playing for three different teams in the NHL during his nearly two-decade career, Spezza acknowledged the fans for their contribution to his success.
“To the fans — in Ottawa, Dallas, Toronto and across the league — your impact on the game is immeasurable. I’ll never be able to replicate that feeling of stepping onto the ice to the roar of the crowd, but it is something I’ll always remember. Thank you,” Spezza said.
The Maple Leafs’ official Instagram account confirmed that Spezza will join the Toronto organization’s front office “effective immediately.” According to ESPN, he will be a special assistant to the team’s general manager, Kyle Dubas.
