Tanner Pearson back in his best shape: Causing serious headaches to Tocchet and Allvin

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Game Time Marc
September 8, 2023 (1:13 PM)

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Tanner Pearson is a very interesting player to look at for the Canucks this season. The 31 year old left winger is coming off an injury riddled season that saw him only play in 14 games. Pearson was on the shelf for multiple months due to a hand injury that was followed by complications that stemmed from his surgery.

The injury was so problematic that there was speculation that his career may have been in play. These rumours have been quieted as Pearson has returned to the ice. There has not been an official statement from the Canucks or Pearson on his health but the Canucks did post Pearson on their Instagram.

With the expectation that Pearson is healthy and will return to the line-up, it brings up the question where does Pearson fit in with the current Canucks roster. Even in his shortened season, Pearson's production was underwhelming last season. He was only able to score once, registering 5 points. Pearson saw a sharp decrease in his ice time as well. Pearson over his past four seasons with the Canucks averaged 16 and a half minutes of TOI. Last season, he averaged 13 and a half minutes a night.

The Canucks have some solid wing depth. Beauvilier, Kuzmenko, Mikheyev, Boeser, Garland are all viable top 6 winger options for the Team. Which likely pushes Pearson down in a bottom-six role. With two young players such as Hoglander and Podkolzin who are eager to prove their worth in the NHL, where does that leave Pearson?

This leads head coach, Rick Tocchet, in an interesting spot when it comes to Pearson. The forward is a veteran presence who has had some very productive seasons with the Canucks such as a 45-point, 2019-20 season that was a career-high. The challenge for Tocchet will be finding a way to inject Pearson in the line-up while still leaving spots open for his young players.

The 2023-24 season is right around the corner and Tocchet and the Canucks organization will soon answer our questions on where a healthy Pearson will play.