Insider explains the real reason Tanner Pearson had to be traded

«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.»

"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."