Tanner Pearson arrives, Casey DeSmith leaves | Six weeks later, the Mike Hoffman trade is complete

It was complicated, but Kent Hughes finally completed his summer salary gymnastics.

The Canadiens’ general manager traded goaltender Casey DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Tanner Pearson and a No. 3 pick^e turn in 2025.

The Habs announced the transaction at the end of the day Tuesday, a few hours before the medical examinations which mark the opening of training camp.

Hughes thus partly resolves his overcrowding problem in front of the net, but adds a body to the attack, a month after dropping two wingers to alleviate congestion.

This transaction therefore concludes a vast operation which began on August 6, when the CH acted as intermediary in the transaction which sent Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins. That day, Hughes traded Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick to the Penguins, and got DeSmith, defenseman Jeff Petry, prospect Nathan Légaré and a No. 2 pick.^e round.

He has since traded Petry and now, DeSmith. The net result of the transactions is therefore as follows.

In other words, the salary addition this season is negligible. This is essentially Gustav Lindstrom’s salary, but if he is transferred to Laval, his salary will disappear from the books. Next season, however, the CH will add more than 2 million dollars with the withholding of Petry’s salary. But Pearson, like DeSmith, has a contract that expires in the summer of 2024.

These additions, however, allowed Hughes to acquire three draft picks.

A complicated case

Concretely, in hockey terms, Pearson could be called upon to replace Hoffman as a winger within an “intermediate” trio.

If Hoffman’s case was complex because of the more or less enviable reputation he had, Pearson’s is complex for different reasons. The striker found himself at the heart of a medical fiasco in Vancouver.

Last season, Pearson only played 14 games due to surgery on his left hand. The 31-year-old athlete was injured on November 9, during a match at the Bell Center. Originally, there was talk of an absence of four to six weeks.

However, according to what is being said in Vancouver, the team erred in the return to play protocol, causing complications which required other operations. According to sources, he suffered between five and seven.

His future was unclear at the Canucks’ last season report in April. “I just want to go home to be a family man and be able to play with my children,” he told local media, still wearing a brace on his hand.

At the beginning of September, on the other hand, the Vancouver Province said Pearson had returned to training “for at least two weeks” and did not appear to be limited in his shooting.

The player, however, remained discreet, and at the time of writing, his agent had still not responded to a message from The Press asking for clarification.

Modest marker

When healthy, Pearson generates adequate offensive production for a third-line winger. The 6’1”, 201 lb athlete has reached the 20-goal mark twice, most recently in 2019-20.

Last season, he was limited to one goal and four assists in 14 games, but in 2021-2022, he had 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 68 games. It remains to be seen whether his hand will have healed well enough to return to such production. We can also wonder how he will recover from his long absence. It’s now been 10 months since he played, a long absence for a player who has never been the smoothest skater.

Personality-wise, however, it seems that the CH have got their hands on a valued teammate. “During the whole injury fiasco, he didn’t say a single word, even though he could have complained. And if he had to talk about it, it was because a teammate (Quinn Hughes) judged that the situation should be denounced. This story says everything you need to know about his character,” said a colleague from Vancouver who wished to remain anonymous.