What Do the Maple Leafs Do with Dakota Joshua & Steven Lorentz?
One of the interesting things about building an NHL roster is that sometimes the hardest decisions come after you make the improvements. The Toronto Maple Leafs spent part of the offseason adding more size, experience, and competition to their bottom six forward group. On paper, that is exactly what many fans wanted to see. The team needed more depth players who could handle tough minutes, bring some physicality, and give the lineup a different look.
But now comes the tricky part. When you add players, someone usually gets pushed out. And for the Maple Leafs, that could mean some difficult decisions involving Dakota Joshua and Steven Lorentz.
Both Joshua and Lorentz are solid players who add grit to the team.
Both players bring qualities that NHL teams value. Joshua gives Toronto size, toughness, and the ability to play a heavier style of hockey. Lorentz brings versatility and a strong defensive game. Those are useful traits, especially when the playoffs arrive and games become more physical. The question, however, is whether the Maple Leafs still need both players at their current price points. That is where things get interesting.
Toronto has added enough competition that players like Bo Groulx and Jacob Quillan could push for opportunities. Both are younger players who come with cheaper contracts and the potential to grow into bigger roles. If the Maple Leafs believe they can get similar production from those players, it could allow them to use their cap space somewhere else. And that is always the balancing act for a team trying to win a Stanley Cup.
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How do the Maple Leafs use their resources most effectively?
It is not about whether Joshua or Lorentz is a good player. They are. The question is whether they are the best use of limited resources. A team can only carry so many depth players, and every dollar committed to the bottom of the lineup is a dollar that cannot be used somewhere else.
For Joshua in particular, there could be an argument that his value is high enough right now for Toronto to explore the trade market. Moving his contract could create flexibility while opening a spot for a younger player ready for a bigger challenge. The Maple Leafs are not trying to build a perfect roster in July. They are trying to build the best roster possible by the time the playoffs arrive.
Sometimes that means adding pieces. Other times, it means knowing when you have enough and when it is time to clear some room. The next challenge for Toronto may not be finding more players. It may be deciding which ones they can afford to move on from.