Maple Leafs player shows up to camp out of shape and gets called out publicly by Jim Hiller

Dakota Joshua skated with the Marlies group on Monday, and the Toronto Maple Leafs still can't say whether he'll be ready for Opening Night.

The word attached to the 30-year-old center is uncertain. Head coach Jim Hiller hasn't shared the cause, and that silence gets louder with the Leafs hosting Ottawa tonight.

Opening Night is next Tuesday, when the Canadiens come to town. That's six days of runway for a player who isn't skating with the main group.

Dan Riccio didn't dance around it on Tuesday. His read: Joshua wasn't ready for the start of camp, and his roster spot is no longer guaranteed.

That's the part that should worry him. Riccio pointed out the Leafs added a lot this summer, and September is a terrible month to show up needing to work into game shape.

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Bad timing gets worse with a new voice behind the bench. Hiller was only hired on June 17, and no new coach owes anything to last season's depth chart.

And last season didn't build much equity. Joshua finished with 10 goals and 18 points in 55 games in Toronto, going minus-2.

Leafs depth chart squeeze puts Dakota Joshua's job at risk

The contract is where this gets messy. He carries a $3,250,000 cap hit through 2027-28, which is a lot of money to have skating with the farm group.

So who exactly is Toronto paying for?

Two seasons ago in Vancouver, he looked like a bargain. He scored 18 goals with a +19 rating in 63 games.

He tacked on four goals and eight points in 13 playoff games that spring, the kind of production contenders chase every deadline.

Then it slid. Joshua dropped to seven goals in 57 games in 2024-25 and went minus-13.

Think of a contractor who shows up to the job site a week late, tools still in the truck. Nobody fires him on the spot, but nobody holds the job for him either.

Here's the blunt version. If Riccio's read is accurate, a veteran whose job is already up for grabs can't afford to be the guy playing catch-up in camp.

Toronto drafted him in the fifth round, 128th overall, back in 2014. Getting back to the Leafs was supposed to be the hard part.

The Leafs haven't exactly looked sharp this month, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision in Montreal on Saturday for their second straight preseason loss.

Career-wise, he sits at 96 points in 296 NHL games. Useful, not untouchable.

The Canadiens get the first look at whatever roster Hiller settles on. Whether Joshua is on it, or still grinding with the Marlies, nobody in Leafs camp is saying yet.

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