UNBELIEVABLE: Canucks star regret joining Canucks and want to leave.

At the start of the Vancouver Canucks season, no one thought signing Dakota Joshua would be a priority. 15 goals and a spot on one of the best third lines in the NHL later, though…

Someone Will Sign Dakota Joshua

We covered Joshua’s early history and just how well he’s done in Vancouver earlier this year. The Canucks got him because they were a little desperate and a lot willing to take a chance. So they offered a 26-year-old winger with 42 NHL games played a two-year, one-way contract.

It’s the sort of deal that epitomized the Jim Benning era of free-agent signings. Big, risky swings at what was hopefully underperforming veteran players to fill bottom-six roles. Ghosts of Sam Gagner, Jay Beagle, Michael Del Zotto and many others still haunt Canucks fans even now.

But the numbers for Joshua were relatively low. The opportunity for him certainly appealed, and a guaranteed income clinched it. Vancouver needed size and speed, and Joshua had both. Joshua wanted a clear shot at an NHL job, and Vancouver had space. What sounded like a perfect fit actually was!

Oh, Dakota!

Joshua’s first full season went well, especially given how the Canucks themselves did. It’s not like they tanked, but 38 wins was a long way away from the playoffs. Still, he locked up a place on the fourth line and started showing he could stick on special teams.

That aspect of his improved play highlights just how surprising Joshua has been. Being a penalty kill option is essential for a bottom-six player who wants to extend their career. He’s now one of the team’s first options and has earned every second. Not much power play time yet, but that might be coming.

Signing Dakota Joshua, a bottom-six winger with some skill, wouldn’t be all that difficult if that’s all he was. Joshua was given the opportunity and he has seized it with both hands. His scoring is up, his minutes are up, his defence has improved, and then there’s everything else he does. Returning from an injury against the Dallas Stars he threw a half-dozen hits and played almost 16 minutes. More importantly, he regretted nothing about getting injured when he came to the defence of teammate Conor Garland.

That fight, against Chicago‘s Mackenzie Entwistle, finished a Gordie Howe hat trick. So far this season, Joshua has 15 goals and 28 points in just 55 games. He may have been drafted as a tough guy, and he’s certainly that, but he’s grown beyond the description.