Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tanner Pearson

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Tanner Pearson

at CDT | by 17 Comments

After being hinted at for most of the morning, in order to become salary cap compliant for the upcoming season, the Vancouver Canucks have traded Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for goaltender Casey DeSmith.

After the trade, the Canucks will have freed up $1.45MM in cap space if no salary is retained, making compliance with the salary cap a much more manageable endeavor. Also, by acquiring DeSmith in the deal, as well, Vancouver has a much more capable backup netminder to put behind Thatcher Demko, something the team did not have last season.

From the standpoint of Montreal, they also worked out their own dilemma, no longer having three playable goalies on the roster to start the season. After acquiring DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the same deal that would land Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh, it had been rumored for weeks that the Canadiens would eventually look to move out DeSmith as well.

All-in-all, simply for their involvement in the Karlsson trade, Montreal has acquired Pearson, Gustav Lindstrom, Nathan Legare, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick, and a conditional 2025-fourth round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.

This is a solid trade haul for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens, but after finding a solution to one problem, another has been created entirely. Now with Pearson in the mix, the team already has a projected 12 forwards on the roster according to CapFriendly, with Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Sean Monahan, still to return from injury. Even aside from those players, players such as Sean Farrell and Owen Beck also appear close to being NHL-ready.

At any rate, both teams solved issues for the time being with this particular trade and should alleviate some concerns heading into training camp.

Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report Pearson was heading to Montreal. 
Chris Johnston of TSN was the first to report no salary had been retained by the Canucks. 
Dreger was the first to announce the trade details. 
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the full trade details. 

Training Camp Notes: Pearson, Berni, Blue Jackets

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Officially being activated from the injury reserve earlier today, Vancouver Canucks forward, Tanner Pearson, may not end up spending very long with the team, anyway. Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic passes along a note from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that the Canucks are looking to move Pearson to a different team.

Now with Pearson activated, the Canucks are approximately $1.7MM above the cap, even factoring in Tucker Poolman on the LTIR to open up the year. With a glut of players at the forward position, several surgeries, and noted dissatisfaction with the organization, Pearson does project as the likeliest player to be moved in order for Vancouver to become salary cap compliant.

As of right now, there are only about eight teams that could comfortably fit Pearson’s $3.25MM salary into their current roster, with teams such as the Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and Anaheim Ducks in a position to acquire a boost to their secondary scoring. However, with limited availability due to his injuries, and the Canucks bargaining from a weakened position as a seller in this scenario, it is tough to project a hypothetical return for Pearson’s services, if any at all.

Other training camp notes:

  •  Much like Egor Sokolov’s situation with the Ottawa Senators, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that even without a contract, defenseman Tim Berni will still be at training camp for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his first year in the NHL during the 2022-23 season, Berni suited up in 59 games for Columbus, scoring one goal and two assists, finishing with a dismal -26 rating. After adding both Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov this offseason, Berni may not see much playing time for the Blue Jackets this year, even with a guaranteed contract.
  • Sticking with Columbus, in a separate report, Portizline notes that after announcing the resignation of Mike Babcock, the General Manager of the Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekalainen, is still looking at changes to the coaching staff, even in the wake of announcing Pascal Vincent as the new head coach. It remains to be seen whether or not Kekalainen is still considered higher-profile coaching changes, or a few developmental coaches around the edges.

Injury Notes: Pearson, Savoie, Rasmussen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

CapFriendly has reported that the Vancouver Canucks have officially activated veteran forward Tanner Pearson off of long-term injured reserve. In their post on X, CapFriendly writes: “This is significant because it means that he is no longer considered an LTI candidate, and tentatively leaves the club $1,709,167 over the cap” even if they place defenseman Tucker Poolman on LTIR.

The team could still be cap compliant to start the season, but to do so they would need to carry fewer than the maximum of 23 players on their active roster. Pearson, 31, is making $3.25MM against the cap and played just 14 games last season, scoring five points.

Some more injury notes from across the NHL:

  • The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski is reporting that Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie left the prospects game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an apparent injury. The 2022 ninth-overall pick left the ice in pain and did not return to the game. The Sabres have said that Savoie may miss time at the start of camp with what is being described as an upper body injury.
  • CapFriendly has also reported that the Detroit Red Wings have now officially activated forward Michael Rasmussen off of injured reserve. Rasmussen had been on injured reserve since March 2nd, meaning he finished his 2022-23 season with just 56 games played. The hulking six-foot-six forward had something of a breakout year, though, scoring at a 15-goal, 42-point 82-game pace.

Senators, Canucks Could Be Teams To Watch On Trade Market

at CDT | by 9 Comments

Speaking on today’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes trade talks are beginning to heat up across the league once again, mainly incited by teams looking to clear players off their roster pre-season to alleviate roster or salary cap crunches. To that end, he identified the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks as significant players to watch over the coming days as training camps approach.

In Ottawa’s case, this is, of course, influenced by their lack of flexibility to re-sign RFA center Shane Pinto. The 22-year-old remains without a contract for this season after potting 20 goals in 2022-23, and he commands more than the paltry $895K in salary cap space Ottawa has remaining, per CapFriendly’s projection. It’s drawn out long enough that trade speculation is beginning to arise about Pinto’s signing rights, but Senators general manager Pierre Dorion would obviously rather retain their 2019 32nd overall pick.

As Friedman notes, Pinto has very little leverage in negotiations, as he carries a 10.2(c) designation and is ineligible to sign an offer sheet. That means Ottawa likely won’t need to clear massive amounts of cap space to sign Pinto to a bridge deal, but a move still needs to be made – that $895K projection already figures a bare-minimum roster of 18 skaters and two goaltenders. Evolving Hockey’s contract projection model predicts a two-year, $1.88MM AAV deal for Pinto, assuming it’s signed between August 1st and the start of the regular season. If Pinto holds out into the season, that projection drops slightly to a $1.805MM AAV on a two-year deal.

Vancouver’s potential activity spurs from the health of Tanner Pearson, who fortunately projects to be healthy for the 2023-24 campaign after a persistent (and controversially handled) hand injury nearly cost him his career last season. His availability creates both a roster and cap crunch for Vancouver, as his $3.25MM cap hit would suddenly factor into their day-to-day picture and not sit on LTIR as previously expected.

He would also likely factor into a third-line role, potentially alongside Conor Garland and Pius Suter. Pearson’s trade value will likely be minimal with other teams wary of his health, so shopping a depth player like Garland (and his $4.95MM cap hit) would likely return better value for general manager Patrik Allvin. While some have criticized Garland’s tenure in Vancouver, he’s a winger who consistently puts up between 40 and 60 points, can play a top-six role, and is cost-controlled through 2026 without trade protection. He’s the type of player a few teams looking to fill gaps in their forward group would be interested in.

Garland also seems like the most likely candidate because the Canucks’ realistic trade options are limited beyond him. They just signed Teddy Blueger in free agency, players like Dakota Joshua have shown to be reliable bottom-six presences and are on cost-effective deals, and they’d be selling low on younger prospects like Nils Höglander or Vasily Podkolzin.

At first glance, however, it seems like a tough time in the offseason to perform cap-clearing maneuvers. Most teams already have their rosters relatively set, and some teams close to contention with obvious holes don’t have the space to make maneuvers. Of teams with cap space to spare, the Chicago Blackhawks jump out as a lone destination where acquiring a veteran wouldn’t cost a spot for a younger player needing significant NHL ice time – they still could use a few more bodies to fill out their opening-night roster.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Offseason Notes: Canucks, Capitals, Penguins

at CDT | by 9 Comments

With a murky salary cap situation and a glut of forwards ready and able to play in the NHL next season, the Vancouver Canucks should not be considered done with their lineup tweaking leading into training camp this September. Patrick Johnston of The Province agrees with that narrative, indicating that the Cancuks appear forced to move out a winger before the season begins.

Taking into account the probable return of forward Tanner Pearson, Johnston argues that Vancouver has five wingers set to fill three spots in the lineup. With Pearson, the Canucks have Vasily Podkolzin, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and Nils Hoglander set to fill three open spots on the wing for Vancouver. The team does have some flexibility with Pearson, however; if he is not ready for NHL minutes after the conclusion of training camp, the team could waive him and assign him to the AHL, as it is unlikely that another team would put in a claim.

It’s never a problem to have too much depth in the NHL, and the Canucks may wait out training camp before making a significant move to thin out their roster, but they have put themselves in a territory to make a move regardless. Boeser has been the one name most oft-mentioned in trade rumors over the last several years, as well as Garland more recently, but the two may provide too much on-ice value to Vancouver to have them seriously consider a trade that far in advance of the trade deadline.

Other notes:

  • This summer, the Washington Capitals and their General Manager, Brian MacLellan, have been adamant about adding some forward depth to the lineup. Having this in mind, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News asserts that the Capitals should entertain the idea of bringing in free agent Jesse Puljujarvi on a professional tryout for training camp. Throughout his time in the NHL, Puljujarvi has not lived up to being the fourth-overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. However, as Silber points out in her article, the new Capitals head coach, Spencer Carbery, has excelled throughout his career in getting the most out of up-and-coming players and may be exactly what Puljujarvi needs to turn his career around.
  • Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Cam Charron as a Hockey Research and Development Analyst. Charron had previously held a similar title with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the previous eight seasons and will join the new President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, in his transition to Pittsburgh.

Canucks Notes: Pettersson, Draft, Pearson

at CDT | by 2 Comments

During a press availability earlier today, the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Patrik Allvin, spoke with the media about a wide range of topics, including injury reports, extensions, the draft, etc. Although the Canucks have plenty of roster reconstruction to take care of this offseason, keeping their most important player is another vital issue at hand.

Elias Pettersson, who just finished the best season of his young career with 39 goals and 63 assists, will be eligible for a contract extension in a few short days. At his age and the talent he brings to the Canucks organization, it is reasonable to assume that Pettersson’s next contract may be $80MM over eight years if not more.

Surprisingly, during the media availability, Allvin appeared very calm about a possible extension for Petterson, saying, “We’re going to sit down when the time is right. There is no rush” (Tweet Link). With plenty of roster turnover expected this summer, the extension for Petterson should be top of mind for the Canucks. Along with Quinn Hughes, Pettersson is a main building block that Vancouver is expected to build around. Without a long-term extension in place with him, it will be difficult for Vancouver to cultivate a long-term plan around him this offseason, if they do acquire outside talent.

Other notes:

  • Already sitting with the 11th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, it does not sound like Allvin is satisfied with their current positioning. In the same meeting with the press, Allvin said, “I’m looking at options to trade up, if that’s an option” (Tweet Link). Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any teams in the top seven of this year’s draft would be willing to trade down. With reasonable expectations, the Washington Capitals (eighth), Detroit Red Wings (ninth), and St.Louis Blues (10th) seem the most likely group above Vancouver to make a trade, but even that should be considered a low probability.
  • Lastly, on the injury front, Allvin did say that forward Tanner Pearson should be fully healed from wrist surgery by the end of summer, and be fully expected to join the team for training camp (Tweet Link). On long-term injured reserve for much of last season, his activation would mean his $3.25MM would go back on the books, tightening the Canucks’ cap space even further.

West Notes: Coyotes, Canucks Free Agents, Pearson, Zhigalov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Coyotes enter next week’s draft loaded with picks, to put it lightly.  The team currently has nine second-round selections and nine third-rounders over the next three years.  Accordingly, Chris Johnston reports in TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment (video link) that Arizona is looking to deal from some of that future draft capital.  Instead of being a dumping ground for bad contracts as they have been in recent years, it appears as if their focus has turned to trying to acquire better pieces who could be moved because the other team is forced into making a move to get into compliance.  Accordingly, instead of receiving picks for taking on the player the other team wants to get rid of as they’ve done several times before, they’re flipping that plan around.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • With Ethan Bear needing shoulder surgery, it is no longer a guarantee that the Canucks will tender the blueliner a qualifying offer next week, reports CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal (Twitter link). Bear is owed a $2.3MM qualifier but is set to miss at least the first couple of months of the season.  With cap space still at somewhat of a premium for Vancouver, that might be too high of a price tag for their liking.  Meanwhile, Dhaliwal adds that the Canucks are working on a new contract for pending UFA defenseman Noah Juulsen and have reached out with an offer to pending UFA rearguard Kyle Burroughs.  As for goalie Collin Delia, the door isn’t closed on a return but the odds of him re-signing appear to be dropping.
  • Also from Dhaliwal (Twitter link), he recently updated Tanner Pearson’s situation. The winger has now undergone seven surgeries as a result of his wrist injury and it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to return to the ice.  The NHLPA indicated back in January that they were looking into how Pearson’s injury was handled and the continued uncertainty can’t be helping things.  Pearson has one year left on his deal which carries a $3.25MM AAV.  At this point, it looks like he’ll at least be starting next season on LTIR.
  • Avalanche prospect Ivan Zhigalov is heading home next season as Yunost Minsk in Belarus announced that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year contract. The 20-year-old was the final pick in the draft last June with the 225th selection and spent this past season with OHL Kingston, posting a save percentage of .889 with a 3.59 GAA in 45 games.  Since Zhigalov was selected out of major junior, Colorado only holds his NHL rights through next season.

Tanner Pearson Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks completed a curious transaction today, moving Tanner Pearson from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve. Pearson was already ruled out through the end of the season in January, but there was no need for him to be moved to LTIR unless the Canucks are adding salary. With Ilya Mikheyev, Micheal Ferland, and Tucker Poolman already there, the team had more than $4.3MM in flexibility.

We likely won’t know why Vancouver made this change until another transaction is completed, but it could signal that the club is going to take on money through the end of this year (or longer). Acquiring a bad contract or retaining salary as a middleman could give the Canucks some extra assets as the team continues to struggle through a lost season.

After receiving the usual coaching change bump, the group has lost three in a row, including a home-and-home with the Detroit Red Wings where they were outscored 11-3. Vancouver now sits just one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.

For Pearson, it is a just another meaningless transaction in a brutal season. The 30-year-old forward will end the year with just one goal in 14 games, after requiring multiple surgeries on his hand. His three-year, $9.75MM contract has another season remaining, though his partial no-trade clause expires at the end of 2022-23. It’s not clear yet when Pearson will be ready to play hockey again, or which team it will be for.

Uncertainty Surrounding Tanner Pearson’s Ability To Play Next Season

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Yesterday, the Canucks announced that Tanner Pearson’s season has come to an end as the winger needed to undergo additional hand surgery.  It’s at least the second known procedure he has had while Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that it’s possible that he has had one or two other procedures on his hand with there being concerns of an infection and perhaps more surgeries to come.

At the moment, the expected recovery time from Pearson’s latest surgery is six months if all goes well.  However, Dhaliwal cautions that it’s possible that Pearson misses time next season or isn’t able to play at all should further surgeries be needed.  At this point, it appears to be too early to tell either way.

Speaking with reporters postgame yesterday including Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes voiced some frustration with how things were handled with Pearson, stating that “it wasn’t handled properly”.  Today, the NHLPA acknowledged to Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province that it’s looking into the matter but declined to comment any further than that.  MacIntyre adds that the Canucks themselves will conduct an investigation into their handling of the injury.  Team president Jim Rutherford stated the following:

We take the situation very seriously. We certainly have to look at everything here when something like this happens, and we’re going to continue to do that. We want to talk about what happened, the decisions that were made and why. We want everyone involved to have a say and be able to talk to each other and ask questions. That’s very important.

Pearson originally suffered the injury back in November and underwent surgery the next day with an expected recovery timeline of four to six weeks.  He had been skating periodically to keep up his conditioning with the expectation that he’d be back at that time or soon after.  Now, a little more than two months later, he’s facing a six-month recovery at a minimum in what appears to be the best-case scenario.

It’s hardly an ideal situation for anyone involved as Pearson wraps up his season with just a goal and four assists in 14 games, not a great return on his $3.25MM cap hit.  Some have suggested that Vancouver might want to consider buying out the 30-year-old but teams can’t buy out an injured player and with Pearson’s expected timeline, that puts him past the June buyout period.  Meanwhile, with now at least a bit of uncertainty of his availability for next season and the NHLPA taking a closer look at things, there are still plenty of questions to be answered on this front in the days and weeks to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tanner Pearson Will Not Return This Season

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have some more disappointing news, announcing that Tanner Pearson suffered a setback in his recovery and needed a second hand surgery. He will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.

It’s a season to forget for Pearson, who will end the year with just a single goal and five points. Through 14 games it was already evident that he wasn’t going to live up to the $3.25MM cap hit he carried, but at the very worst would be a reliable veteran piece for the bottom six.

Now, he very well could have played his last game in a Canucks uniform. Pearson’s seven-team no-trade clause will expire at the end of the season, meaning he no longer has any protection in his contract. If the team can’t find a taker, they could also choose a buyout, which would reduce his cap hit to $1.42MM for the 2023-24 season at the cost of a $917K penalty in 2024-25.

Of course, he needs to be healthy for the team to execute a buyout, meaning this hand surgery will have to go well for the team to have any chance of getting out from the last year of his deal.

Interestingly though, at 30 years old, Pearson may end up as a buy-low candidate in the offseason. It wasn’t working in Vancouver anymore and his currently salary makes him a difficult piece to build around, but at a lower cost, he could be a valuable depth piece. If he heals well this time, there could still be plenty of hockey left in the ten-year veteran, who scored 21 goals as recently as 2019-20.

For now, he can be moved to long-term injured reserve to give the team some extra cap flexibility if they end up needing it.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top