Canucks open training camp with optimism — and a stunning setback

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Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have saved their soundbites for camp.

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And should the Vancouver Canucks’ stars finally speak Wednesday afternoon, it will be with heightened excitement and expectation of what awaits when training commences Thursday in Penticton. It will also be tempered by a measure of concern.

The defending Pacific Division champions piled up 109 points and have more bullets in the chamber. However, they were rocked by the news that Dakota Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the off-season and required surgery to remove a tumour.

“The last several weeks have been extremely challenging,” Joshua said in a statement Tuesday. “I plan on returning to play as soon as possible.”

Joshua hit career highs for goals (18), assists (14) and points (32) in just 63 games last season. He was also ninth overall in hits with 244 and fourth among club forwards with 40 blocks.

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Joshua added eight points (4-4) in 13 playoff games and was third overall with 74 hits to earn a four-year extension that carries a US$3.25 million annual cap hit. He will be placed on long-term injury reserve as the Canucks consider roster options.

The free-agent acquisitions of wingers Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong and agitating Kiefer Sherwood should give head coach Rick Tocchet satisfaction in having concerns met for more offensive clout and bite to adjust to game situations.

For Pettersson and Miller, this is a significant sign that management is all in on going further than the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Canucks were sixth in scoring in 2023-24 with an average of 3.40 goals per regular-season outing and ranked fifth in even-strength scoring. But they slipped to 2.54 goals per game in the playoffs. And a power play that looked so go on paper, was 11th in the regular season at 22.7 per cent efficiency and just 13.9 in the post-season.

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When general manager Patrik Allvin spoke of disappointment, as opposed to delight following a strong season, it was a precursor to an off-season of maneuvering.

“We lost the last game,” he said. “I’m not happy. I’m not satisfied.”

Those quotes could have come from Pettersson, who has pledged to reignite his fire of desire this season after enduring prolonged scoring slumps and playing through tendinitis pain in his knee that first flared up in January. It hampered his quickness, compete level and production.

Pettersson still managed 89 points (34-55), including 13 power-play goals, and went on a tear when the Lotto Line was reunited during a six-game road trip in early January. In a four-outing tour de force, he had a pair of four-point games to highlight nine points, which included five goals and three game-winners.

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Pettersson then had just one goal in the final 13 regular-season games and five points (1-4) in 13 post-season tests. Tocchet wanted Pettersson to be more dynamic, but the optics of the frustrated Swede often being static told a sobering story.

“It will be nice to get a break from everything,” he said. “Obviously, it’s been a very noisy season in terms of contracts and how s–t I’ve been the last three months. I’m just excited to get a little break here, and then get back on the horse again, train hard, and come in the best shape possible next season.”

DeBrusk makes sense to join Pettersson

Pettersson should be enamoured by what could be.

After playing on 11 different line combinations last season and with eight different wingers to start games — not including those who got a brief cup of coffee — there’s something to be said for the anticipation of expected alignments.

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Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty, Andrei Kuzmenko and Elias Lindholm are gone. Nils Hoglander remains an option, but the arrival of DeBrusk and Sprong are by design. Pettersson, 25, could align with a big winger in DeBrusk, 27, who has twice scored 27 goals, has 30-goal potential and plays with an edge.

He led the Boston Bruins with 11 points (5-6) in 13 playoff games last spring, was second in hits (53) and second among forwards in blocked shots (16). Being present when it matters most will resonate with Tocchet.

DeBrusk signed a seven-year, US$38.5 million free agent contract July 1 to bring size, bite, versatility and production. The 6-foot-1, 198 pound Edmonton native rode a roller-coaster of inconsistency in Boston and a trade request was later rescinded.

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When DeBrusk saw the Canucks’ depth at centre, a playoff presence and Tocchet’s effectiveness to capture the Jack Adams Trophy as the league’s best bench boss, he was sold.

“I really like where the team is going and it made some big steps last year and I thought I’d be able to fit in pretty well,” said DeBrusk. “To join a group like this I couldn’t say no. I want to get back to that 25- to 30-goal range and possibly more. I was brought in to score goals.”

The left-shot DeBrusk could also be effective on the power play. He’s tough to move from front of the net and good on retrievals and board work. He could also be a bumper-position consideration.

Sprong can’t afford to be defensive liability

Pettersson could also be flanked by Sprong. He has a connection with Sprong, 27, from three years ago when they bumped into each other while on vacation and remain in contact.

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Pettersson was among the first to speak to Sprong after the former Detroit Red Wings right-shot winger took a pay cut from US$2 million to sign a one-year, US$975,000 deal here.

“We really bonded on that vacation. It was a good trip,” said Sprong. “We went for dinner and stayed close friends and always talk after games.”

The talk is Sprong should surpass 18 goals and 43 points last season because he managed 21 with the Seattle Kraken in 2022-23. However, to chase 25 goals, he has to be good without the puck. Tocchet won’t tolerate tardiness. He was scratched late last season with the Wings in hot pursuit of a playoff spot.

However, Sprong does make the most of his minutes. He averaged just a dozen per outing with the Wings last season and 11:25 with the Kraken. He might get some rope from Tocchet to produce with more ice time and build more diligence without the puck.

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Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Miller sent another message last season about his determination to be a more dependable two-way player while driving play.

He set career highs for goals (37) and points (103) in 2023-24 to place ninth in league scoring and also had 10 power-play goals and nine game-winners. He added a dozen points (3-9) in 13 playoff games to share the team lead with Brock Boeser. Boeser had seven goals and five assists in 12 games before being sidelined with a blood clot that kept him from a second-round, Game 7 thriller loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“He’s a massive catalyst,” Canucks captain Quinn Hughes said of Miller. “A big part of the leadership group and a big personality. He expects a lot from himself. He probably took the losing (in the past) personally and he deserves this.”

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Boeser, 27, also hit the 40-goal plateau for the first time and his career-best 73 points — including a team-high 16 power-play goals — were a result of becoming more adept at tips, deflections and depositing rebounds. A career-high 19.6 shooting percentage ranked sixth overall last season, while Miller was eighth at 19.1, also a career best.

Boeser’s 81-game durability sets him up to make the most of an expiring three-year contract this season that carries a US$6.65 million salary cap hit, as long as the blood-clot issue in his leg doesn’t re-appear.

“When you’re on blood thinners, you’ve just got to be careful of cutting yourself or hitting your head, and that’s why I had to kind of take it easy a bit in the summer,” said Boeser. “You’ve got to be safe on flights and make sure you’re moving around and not sleeping. I’ve been told to walk around on flights and wear compression socks.”

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Heinen will get look with dynamic duo

Flanking Miller and Boeser requires being predictable and productive and playing at pace.

Pius Suter played that role on the left side last season, but he’s probably a better bet to anchor the third line. There were also Miller line cameos for Hoglander, Mikheyev and Joshua last season, and Tocchet could play musical wingers again.

Heinen, 29, has been on the Canucks’ radar in past seasons and the Langley native chose to come home for an annual US$2.25 million cap hit over two years. He had 17 goals with the Bruins last season and has yet to hit 20 with three NHL clubs as a depth winger over 487 career regular-season games.

However, he’s also responsible and given the opportunity here to move up the lineup, he can be good on the forecheck and has the smarts to be a complementary piece for Miller and Boeser.

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Meanwhile, Teddy Blueger would be a good fourth-line fit at centre to work with Sherwood, 29, and Hoglander, 23. If the Canucks carry 14 forwards, then they can consider Nils Aman, 24, and Phil Di Giuseppe, 30, among options.

Prize prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki, 20, lived up to expectations at the Young Stars tournament and will benefit from a full AHL season with the Abbotsford Canucks. Expect to see him getting games with the parent club.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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