There is good news coming out of Vancouver. The Canucks announced they signed forward Tanner Pearson to a three-year contract extension worth $9.75 million. The contract carries a salary-cap hit of $3.25 million.
3 years. $3.25 mil aav for Tanner Pearson and the Canucks.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 8, 2021
Tanner Pearson Signs Extension
Pearson originally came to Vancouver in a one-for-one deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Erik Gudbranson. The winger fit in perfectly with Bo Horvat, scoring nine goals for the Canucks in just 19 games that year. Since then, he was a fixture on the team’s second line with 21 goals and 45 points in 2019-20. His scoring numbers slipped this season, though, and he is in the final year of his $3.75 million deal.
Pearson is a versatile, physical player who works well with whatever role he’s given. He can play both on the power-play or short-handed, as needed. He’s been to the playoffs, winning a Stanley Cup in 2013-14 and scoring nine goals and 23 points in 51 total games. Clearly, the Canucks do not want to lose another asset to free agency. And he has a real good player for the Canucks. At the length and money, this is a good deal for both. As part of the deal, he has a full no-trade clause in year one, a modified seven-team no-trade clause in year two, and no-trade protection at all in year three.
What This Means For The Future
For Vancouver, this is a clear sign that chemistry is important to them. It took several years to find a winger who could compliment Horvat. Therefore they wanted to keep him around. A three-year deal is a good length for both parties. It allows him to re-establish himself after a crazy year where the Canucks season had to be interrupted because of COVID-19. Pearson also said he wanted to stay in Vancouver, and did so at a team-friendly cost. With this taken care of, let’s see if this helps Pearson on the ice, whenever the Canucks resume playing the season.
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