"Pick it up": Joshua blossoming since Canucks coach Tocchet's challenge
It wasn’t too long ago that Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet issued a very public challenge to forward Dakota Joshua.
“Dakota, heās got to pick it up. Thatās it, quite frankly,” the head coach said back in training camp.Ā āIām not going to go into some other factors, but he has to, heās got to try to win a job.ā
Joshua has definitely picked it up since then and has been one of the team’s most valuable forwards over the past few weeks. He has eight goals and 14 points in 33 games this season, including four goals and two assists in his last five games.
The 6-foot-3 forward has been a crucial part of the Canucks success in December, as well as throughout the season as a whole. Not only has he been scoring, but he’s also become a crucial component of the penalty kill.
Joshua is one-third of what has been the team’s most effective line as of late, alongside Teddy Blueger and Conor Garland. The Canucks have controlled 62.04% of the expected goals when that trio is on the ice at five-on-five, as well as outscored their opponents 9-4.
No need to pre-heat because this line's already COOOOOKIN' š„ pic.twitter.com/4S7IfL3Crn
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 22, 2023
The trio is 10th in expected goals shared among all forward lines with at least 150 five-on-five minutes, according to hockey analytics website MoneyPuck.
“We work hard. I think we play a system that rewards hard work,” said Garland about the line after a recent 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars. “We try to listen to Tocc as best as we can before games and we follow the team’s game plan to a tee and it pays off.”
Joshua is in the final year of a contract that costs just $825,000 against the cap. If he can keep up this level of play for the rest of the season, he’s going to need a large raise. He’s one of several key contributors that the Canucks will need to negotiate an extension for, including Elias Pettersson, Filip Hronek, Nikita Zadorov, and more.
While the salary cap is expected to jump next season, the Canucks will also have Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s buyout cap penalty jump to $2.37 million. This means that things could get dicey when it comes to bringing everyone back.
For now, Joshua is giving the Canucks excellent production for a minuscule cost. He’s part of a line that is driving offence for the team and has been an excellent addition to the roster.