Insider explains the real reason Tanner Pearson had to be traded

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Josh Tupper
September 25, 2023 (12:13)

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Last week the Vancouver Canucks made a trade to get under the salary cap and become cap compliant. The Canucks sent winger Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goalie Casey DeSmith.

The move became a necessity after tensions grew between Pearson and the franchise. Pearson has just next season remaining on his current cap hit .

Pearson, 31, has had a difficult recovery dealing with his hand injuries. According to a report from Rick Dhaliwal, Pearson has had to undergo 6-7 surgeries so far.

«Pearson was shut down with a hand injury on January 12th, he hurt the hand on November 9th. The latest on Pearson is that he has had 6-7 surgeries so far and the hope is he is done with surgeries. The rehab is still a long road ahead for Pearson, still too early to know if he will play next season.»

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes the trade was the best case scenario for all involved. He detailed as much in his 32 Thoughts piece:

"Vancouver trading Tanner Pearson to Montreal is the best thing for everyone involved, including the player. There were a lot of hard feelings in the aftermath of the multi-surgery mayhem that put his career into uncertainty and cast doubt on the Canucks medical staff. It's great to see him looking healthy enough to play. When the summer began Vancouver wasn't expecting him to be ready so they made other moves, but Pearson's potential return would have caused a salary-cap and positional logjam for the Canucks. One of the things they could have considered was putting Pearson on waivers. That wouldn't have been good for anyone."

In the end Pearson gets out the fresh start he wanted after he found the trust was broken between himself and the medical staff. While the Canucks happily save a little bit of money.

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Insider explains the real reason Tanner Pearson had to be traded

Last week the Vancouver Canucks made a trade to get under the salary cap and become cap compliant. The Canucks sent winger Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goalie Casey DeSmith.

Who is going to lead the Canucks in scoring next season?