Canucks forward Dakota Joshua participated in a full practice on Friday as he gets closer to returning from testicular cancer, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. The 28-year-old went from a depth player earlier in his career to a key part of Vancouver’s bottom-six forward group while setting career highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (235) in 63 games last season. That helped him earn a four-year, $13MM extension back in June to avoid free agency. Despite being LTIR-eligible, Vancouver never moved Joshua there so they won’t have to worry about having to get cap-compliant when he’s able to return which should happen sometime over the next few days. With Nils Aman on waivers today, it appears they’re getting ready to open up the spot for Joshua to return.
More from the Western Conference:
- Stars center Tyler Seguin was scratched from the second and final Global Series game today; the team announced (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old is off to a good start to his season, notching five goals and four assists in seven games. However, this is already the second time he has missed time to a lower-body issue after missing three games last month as well which could be cause for concern if it’s a problem that might linger for Seguin.
- After missing Thursday’s game in Toronto for the birth of his second child, Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour has returned to the team and will play tonight versus Ottawa, notes team broadcaster Piper Shaw (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is in his first season with Seattle after signing a seven-year, $50MM contract on the opening day of free agency. He has fared quite well with his new team so far, picking up four goals and five assists in his first ten games while recording a hat-trick on Tuesday against Montreal. Since Montour was never removed from the active roster, no corresponding move is necessary for him to return.