Dakota Joshua Pays Tribute to Maple Leafs Legend With Jersey Number Reveal

Just last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Dakota Joshua in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. The Leafs gave up a fourth-round draft pick to acquire the forward, and fans are looking forward to his future contributions.

Joshua is coming off a difficult season with the Canucks where he only managed seven goals and 14 points. However, at the beginning of the season, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which ultimately cut into his ability to train and get in shape.

Now, the forward is ready for an 82-game campaign with the Maple Leafs, and he is already ingratiating himself with the franchise. Upon revealing his jersey number, Joshua decided to pay tribute to a former Leaf who also dealt with testicular cancer.

Of course, we are talking about Phil Kessel, who was an iconic player with the franchise and one of those guys that the fans loved.

While he had his fair share of issues with the Toronto media, the fanbase appreciated a guy who could score goals seemingly at will.

As Joshua explained, Kessel's story resonates with his own, and that is why he wanted to keep the number 81, which he wore with the Canucks.

This is a cool moment, and we're sure Kessel is feeling loved right now, as he should. He was a thrill throughout his NHL career, and it's nice to see him get some recognition.

Moving forward, Dakota Joshua will be looking to have a bounce-back season, and if he manages to have one with the Leafs of all teams, he will become extremely popular in Toronto.

He has a career high of 18 goals, and we believe he can reach those heights again. Perhaps even a 20-goal season is in the cards for the forward.

No matter what, he was an intriguing move by Brad Treliving, and we cannot wait to see how this all shapes out.