*Photo from the Tribune-Review*
It's always trade season in hockey. The Vancouver Canucks have acquired goalie Casey DeSmith from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Tanner Pearson and a 2025 3rd round draft pick, according to both teams.
Pearson's 2022-2023 season was marred by injury, only playing in 14 games before suffering a hand injury that led to multiple surgeries and an internal review of the care given to Pearson by the Canucks. He was activated off LTIR by the Canucks prior to the trade.
Montreal GM Kent Hughes said of Pearson's condition that "I can tell you that he’s already passed his physical testing in Vancouver. He’s skating. I think the strength in his injured hand is almost 80 percent. Is it 100 percent? No, but we expect that he’s going to be available to play and take part in camp. I think he’s arriving today so he’ll be on the ice tomorrow."
Last season, Pearson had one goal and 4 assists in the 14 games he played. In 2021-2022, he had 14 goals and 20 assists, averaging 16:03 of ice time while posting a +9 rating while playing in 68 games for the Canucks.
The upcoming season will be the final year of Pearson's current contract. The contract has a $3.25 million AAV and owes him a $1.5 million signing bonus. He had a full no trade clause in 2021-2022 and a 7 team no trade list last season, but there are no protections in this year of the contract.
Between the Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Los Angeles Kings, Pearson has played in 10 NHL seasons. He has amassed 133 goals and 139 assists, posting a +9 rating while averaging 15:15 of ice time in 590 regular season games. He also has 9 goals and 14 assists in 51 career playoff games.
Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin said of the trade that "I couldn't guarantee Pearson ice time and a roster spot and we felt this was a hockey deal where we improve our depth in net on the back end getting an established goalie in Casey DeSmith. But the improvement of our younger wingers made us excited and we felt that this was a move that freed up some cap flexibility as well."
Coming back to the Canucks is DeSmith, also entering the final season of his current contract. Signed with the Penguins prior to last season, DeSmith is set to make $1.8 million this season and is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the year. He landed in Montreal as part of the Erik Karlsson trade in July.
Last season was DeSmith's 5th campaign in the NHL. In his age 31 season, DeSmith had a 15-16-4 record with 16 quality starts. He notched a .905 save percentage and 3.17 GAA while making 33 starts and 5 relief appearances.
DeSmith, who originally signed with the Penguins as an undrafted free agent, has spent all 5 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh. He has authored a 58-44-15 record with 62 quality starts and 9 shutouts. He also has a 2.81 GAA and .912 save percentage across 115 starts and 134 total games. He has made one playoff start in his career, saving 48 of 51 shots before leaving injured in a game that went to 3 overtimes. Louis Domingue received the decision for that game, getting the win.
With the trade, the Canucks are just below the cap with Tucker Poolman as an LTIR candidate. DeSmith will become the backup to Thatcher Demko, while Pearson will likely slot into the Canadiens middle 6 forward group.
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