There is 100 per cent one thing left to do on Joe LaBate’s professional hockey to-do list: score a goal in the NHL.

“Yes, absolutely,” he says with a knowing smile, his eyes lighting up as well. And, yes, he’s come home.

“Oh yeah man, full circle,” he laughed about signing with the Canucks seven years after he left. “They feel like the right fit. They’ve got some openings and they need what I bring. Some grit. Some sandpaper.”

He’s not a name that jumps off the page, and he’s likely headed for Abbotsford to start the season. But there’s little doubt that if he does make it back to Rogers Arena , he’ll quickly remind everyone why he was a bit of a cult figure in his first NHL go-round with the Canucks, nine seasons ago.

In a career that’s seen it all, that’s one thing that stands out

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