The Vancouver Canucks and breakout performer Dakota Joshua are reportedly still very far apart in contract negotiations.
The unrestricted free agent is in line for a big raise after scoring 18 goals last season and it sounds like he might’ve priced himself out of a range the Canucks are comfortable with.
“Not hearing the Canucks are close with Joshua, sounds like a lot of work to do before a deal gets done,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal today on the Donnie & Dhali show. “A lot of models out there showing Joshua could get over $3 million on July 1, I don’t think the Canucks are comfortable going to $3 million with him.”
“I’ve heard the Canucks are in the low twos. It’s not close right now with Dakota Joshua. It’s not,” Dhaliwal continued.
The 28-year-old made just $825,000 last season as he established himself as an everyday NHL player. He not only was on pace to break the 20-goal mark, he also killed penalties and brought a physical presence that few players across the league could match.
The winger continued his solid play into the postseason and finished with eight points in 13 playoff games. He still leads all skaters in playoff hits despite not qualifying for the third round.
Joshua expressed his desire to return to Vancouver at year-end exit interviews.
“I want to stay, obviously. I want to be here and build off of what just happened. Obviously there’s more things that go into it that are out of my control, but I want to be here,” said the forward at that time.
Despite that, it seems as if the two sides are too far apart to come to an agreement. At 28 years old and coming off a career-best season, conventional wisdom suggests Joshua should go for the largest contract possible, one that the Canucks are unlikely to be able to offer.
General manager Patrik Allvin went as far as saying, “We can find the next Dakota Joshua” during his year-end interview, a quote Dhaliwal also referenced on today’s show. It sounded ominous for the winger’s future with the team.