The Vancouver Canucks signed forward Dakota Joshua to a four-year contract with a $3.25-million cap hit, the team announced Thursday.
Joshua, 28, tallied a career-high 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games last season. He added four goals and eight points in 13 playoff games. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent Monday.
Vancouver added Joshua as a free agent in 2022 on a two-year contract with a cap hit of $825,000.
Before signing with the Canucks, Joshua had played just 42 NHL games and accrued nine total points. He established himself as an NHL regular in 2022-23 with 23 points in 79 contests before his breakout campaign this past year.
Joshua led Vancouver with 245 hits last season. His 21.4% shooting percentage was also the highest on the team among regulars.
His signing comes after the Canucks shipped Ilya Mikheyev to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Vancouver retained 15% of Mikheyev's salary but still cleared just over $4 million.
The Canucks have $17.5 million of cap space with Tucker Poolman's cap hit on long-term injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Joshua 128th overall in 2014.
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