The Vancouver Canucks will be getting Dakota Joshua back in the next 1-2 weeks, according to a report from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

Joshua returned to the ice with his Canucks teammates for morning skate in Philadelphia on Saturday. Wearing a no-contact jersey while still recovering from testicular cancer treatment over the offseason, Joshua seemed to be in good spirits just to be back on the ice.

“That was his first time [with the group],” said head coach Rick Tocchet following the skate. “It’s good, it’s a step closer. He’s a guy that wins corner battles, he’s one of our best net-front guys, so when he comes back it’s like having a major trade.”

While his on-ice return is sure to give the Canucks a big boost, Joshua being with the team off the ice is already having a positive impact. A video of Joshua congratulating his teammates and, in particular, Tyler Myers, who picked up a beautiful primary assist in his 1000th NHL game, made the rounds following the Canucks’ win over the Flyers on Saturday.

The 28-year-old winger was one-third of the Canucks’ most consistent line last season, playing on the left side of Teddy Blueger and Conor Garland. It was a year to remember for Joshua, scoring 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points, 60 penalty minutes and 244 hits with a plus-19 rating in 63 games. These were all career highs outside of penalty minutes (which he tied) and games played.

Conor Garland has played almost exclusively with Nils Höglander to open the new season, and with the two wingers now up playing in the top six with Elias Pettersson, it will be interesting to see where Joshua will slot in when he’s eventually ready to return.

Joshua signed a four-year contract worth $3.25 million annually with the Canucks days before he was slated to hit unrestricted free agency this past offseason. After their game Tuesday in Chicago, the Canucks don’t play again until Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Rogers Arena. Their schedule then gets fairly busy in early November, so having Joshua back at that point would certainly be a welcome development for the Canucks.

We recently analyzed what the Canucks’ forward lines might look like when Joshua returns. You can read that by clicking here!