Elliotte Friedman gives update on Canucks & Dakota Joshua

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Cooper Godin
May 22, 2024 (1:20 PM)

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Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin and his management group have plenty of work ahead of themselves this summer with some key players on their roster in need of a new contract.

One of those players that's set to be without a contract and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st is forward Dakota Joshua, who is coming off the best season of his National Hockey League career so far.

During Wednesday's edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared that the Vancouver Canucks would like to keep Dakota Joshua next season.

"Joshua: Canucks want to keep him but we'll see."

Joshua, 28, set new career highs in goals, assists, points and plus/minus during the regular season. In 63 games, Joshua had 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists), 60 penalty minutes and was a plus-19. The Dearborn, Michigan native was also one of Vancouver's best forwards during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, putting up eight points in 13 games.

After the season he had, there is going to be plenty of interest in Dakota Joshua if he hits the open market on July 1st. It's hard to pinpoint what his next contract could look like, especially the AAV, but he'll certainly get big bump in pay from the $825,000 he made during the 2023-24 campaign.

Players like Dakota Joshua are built for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's gritty, not afraid to get into the dirty areas and contributes offensively. In a third line role, he's the perfect player and someone the Vancouver Canucks need to keep going forward.