Canucks' Joshua undergoes surgery for testicular cancer

Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua will not be available for the start of training camp after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer, he revealed in a team statement Tuesday.

Joshua felt a lump over the summer and subsequently had a tumor removed. The 28-year-old is still healing from the procedure, but he intends on playing as soon as possible this season.

In late June, the Michigan-born forward parlayed an encouraging season with the Canucks into a four-year contract at $3.25 million annually. He would've been an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Joshua collected only 15 goals and 17 assists in 121 games over three previous campaigns - one with Vancouver and two with the St. Louis Blues to start his career. But he notched 18 tallies and 14 helpers over 63 regular-season contests with the Canucks in 2023-24, and he added four goals and four assists across 13 playoff games this past spring.

The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Joshua with the 128th overall selection in 2014. They traded him to the Blues for future considerations five years later, and he signed with the Canucks in the summer of 2022.