Around the League - 2024-2025

BallardEra

Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
Dec 26, 2017
7,826
12,556
East York, Ontario
Hyman vs Bunting.

Round 1....

FIGHT!!!

Screenshot_20241101-111525.png
 
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hockeywiz542

Registered User
May 26, 2008
16,163
5,229

VANCOUVER — Dakota Joshua still struggles to put into words what it felt like to receive the news.

The Vancouver Canucks winger knew something was wrong, but hearing the doctor's diagnosis of testicular cancer was scary.

"Kind of something you can’t be prepared for. But the support from my family, friends, the fans, the organization — everyone’s been so nice and very caring," Joshua said Friday.

“I’m just very thankful and happy to be standing here today. Very hard to go through, but thankful for how it’s turned out so far.”

Joshua, 28, underwent surgery in early September and has been working his way back to the Canucks' lineup ever since.

After missing training camp and the first few weeks of the regular season, he has rejoined the team for practices and even shed the red non-contact jersey.

“I'm feeling good. I'm getting better every day," he said. "Obviously, it's been a tough road to get back in the mix. But it's going good. And I’m just happy to be back out there and getting after it with the guys.”

The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games. He added four goals and four assists in the playoffs, then signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.

While no date has been set for when Joshua will return to Vancouver's lineup, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said he's looking forward to the body positioning and wall work the six-foot-three, 206-pound forward brings.

“I think he could add a boost to our team with that, with winning battles and just his presence in front of the net," Tocchet said. "He’s a tough guy to play against. So any time you add a guy like that in the lineup, it's contagious.”


For Joshua, returning isn't just about seeing whether he can play for three periods.

“I want to go out there and I want to make stuff happen and have an impact and help this team win games," he said. "So, not sure when that’ll be, but getting close and getting better every day.”

Sticking around his teammates has been part of Joshua's healing process. He's joined the team for road trips and is an important presence in the locker room, Tocchet said.

Being around the guys is the best part of playing professional hockey, Joshua said.
 
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Burnie97

Registered User
Jun 26, 2015
14,768
13,893
Canada

VANCOUVER — Dakota Joshua still struggles to put into words what it felt like to receive the news.

The Vancouver Canucks winger knew something was wrong, but hearing the doctor's diagnosis of testicular cancer was scary.

"Kind of something you can’t be prepared for. But the support from my family, friends, the fans, the organization — everyone’s been so nice and very caring," Joshua said Friday.

“I’m just very thankful and happy to be standing here today. Very hard to go through, but thankful for how it’s turned out so far.”

Joshua, 28, underwent surgery in early September and has been working his way back to the Canucks' lineup ever since.

After missing training camp and the first few weeks of the regular season, he has rejoined the team for practices and even shed the red non-contact jersey.

“I'm feeling good. I'm getting better every day," he said. "Obviously, it's been a tough road to get back in the mix. But it's going good. And I’m just happy to be back out there and getting after it with the guys.”

The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games. He added four goals and four assists in the playoffs, then signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.

While no date has been set for when Joshua will return to Vancouver's lineup, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said he's looking forward to the body positioning and wall work the six-foot-three, 206-pound forward brings.

“I think he could add a boost to our team with that, with winning battles and just his presence in front of the net," Tocchet said. "He’s a tough guy to play against. So any time you add a guy like that in the lineup, it's contagious.”


For Joshua, returning isn't just about seeing whether he can play for three periods.

“I want to go out there and I want to make stuff happen and have an impact and help this team win games," he said. "So, not sure when that’ll be, but getting close and getting better every day.”

Sticking around his teammates has been part of Joshua's healing process. He's joined the team for road trips and is an important presence in the locker room, Tocchet said.

Being around the guys is the best part of playing professional hockey, Joshua said.
Scary stuff but seems like they caught it early enough.

He seems to becoming a real player for the Canucks. All the best to him from here on out.
 

BallardEra

Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
Dec 26, 2017
7,826
12,556
East York, Ontario

VANCOUVER — Dakota Joshua still struggles to put into words what it felt like to receive the news.

The Vancouver Canucks winger knew something was wrong, but hearing the doctor's diagnosis of testicular cancer was scary.

"Kind of something you can’t be prepared for. But the support from my family, friends, the fans, the organization — everyone’s been so nice and very caring," Joshua said Friday.

“I’m just very thankful and happy to be standing here today. Very hard to go through, but thankful for how it’s turned out so far.”

Joshua, 28, underwent surgery in early September and has been working his way back to the Canucks' lineup ever since.

After missing training camp and the first few weeks of the regular season, he has rejoined the team for practices and even shed the red non-contact jersey.

“I'm feeling good. I'm getting better every day," he said. "Obviously, it's been a tough road to get back in the mix. But it's going good. And I’m just happy to be back out there and getting after it with the guys.”

The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games. He added four goals and four assists in the playoffs, then signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.

While no date has been set for when Joshua will return to Vancouver's lineup, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said he's looking forward to the body positioning and wall work the six-foot-three, 206-pound forward brings.

“I think he could add a boost to our team with that, with winning battles and just his presence in front of the net," Tocchet said. "He’s a tough guy to play against. So any time you add a guy like that in the lineup, it's contagious.”


For Joshua, returning isn't just about seeing whether he can play for three periods.

“I want to go out there and I want to make stuff happen and have an impact and help this team win games," he said. "So, not sure when that’ll be, but getting close and getting better every day.”

Sticking around his teammates has been part of Joshua's healing process. He's joined the team for road trips and is an important presence in the locker room, Tocchet said.

Being around the guys is the best part of playing professional hockey, Joshua said.

I can relate to this. Lost my right nut about 10 years ago and gave zero f***s.

I'm all good boys and learned to not stress about what I can't control and that's why I'm so easy going on these boards.

Getting into "board battles" is so pointless. We can agree to disagree but at the end of the day we have a real life outside of these boards.

We are all Leafs fans who want to see our team ultimately lift that Cup!
 

Jojalu

Registered User
Feb 22, 2019
6,173
7,592
I can relate to this. Lost my right nut about 10 years ago and gave zero f***s.

I'm all good boys and learned to not stress about what I can't control and that's why I'm so easy going on these boards.

Getting into "board battles" is so pointless. We can agree to disagree but at the end of the day we have a real life outside of these boards.

We are all Leafs fans who want to see our team ultimately lift that Cup!
Couldn't agree more.

Well said. Great attitude to have when dealing with the lousier part of life.

Too often this board reminds me of US politics.

We are all hoping for that magical year to share together. The Leafs are just a source of entertainment. One that is captivating, but nothing more
 

Peasy

Registered User
May 25, 2012
17,712
16,605
Star Shoppin
Devils looked afraid of going to the dirty areas.

Not an impressive performance by any stretch.
I have Hughes and Hischier in a dynasty league so I've closely followed the Devils the past few years. They remind me so much of the early iterations of this Leafs team. Hughes and Bratt are clearly their best offensive guys but theyre the type of players you could expect to struggle come playoff time or when things get tough/physical just like our stars. I think their Meier trade and signing was rushed and not 100% needed kinda like us getting JT.
 

Zybalto

Registered User
Dec 28, 2012
9,665
9,028
Oof, didn't look lately but Stamkos on pace for 8 goals, 25 points and a -65 on the year isn't a great start at 8 million a year for the Preds.
 

Peasy

Registered User
May 25, 2012
17,712
16,605
Star Shoppin
Oof, didn't look lately but Stamkos on pace for 8 goals, 25 points and a -65 on the year isn't a great start at 8 million a year for the Preds.
He was cooked last year, Kucherov is just that good though. Was able to mask how bad he was and just fed him one timers all year while doin all the work.
 
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Crocket

Registered User
Jul 14, 2013
1,122
539
Pretty easy to understand.

However, we know "growing the sport" is more important than having good teams.

And for fans maybe it was a mistake in Arizona (yes it was), and attendance would indicate additional teams could be mistakes:

Bottom of Attendance last year:

View attachment 923888
I think this had a lot to do with the post COVID affect on the small markets. Winnipeg is going to be fine, one lull in attendance after COVID isn't the end of the world. The team is great, getting attendance back to full and the owners are dedicated and have deep pockets. Arizona never had a serious owner.
Ottawa will be fine too but it shows how poorly thought out their arena was.
 

Evilhomer

Registered User
Oct 10, 2019
4,875
4,776
I think this had a lot to do with the post COVID affect on the small markets. Winnipeg is going to be fine, one lull in attendance after COVID isn't the end of the world. The team is great, getting attendance back to full and the owners are dedicated and have deep pockets. Arizona never had a serious owner.
Ottawa will be fine too but it shows how poorly thought out their arena was.
The problem with cities like Winnipeg, Ottawa, Columbus, etc. is that even with full attendance every night the corporate participation is too small because the markets just aren't big enough.
 

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