Monday, February 25, 2019

Pearson Heads to Vancouver




2019 Season July 1, 2019
To Vancouver Pos GP G/W Points Cap Years Cap
Tanner Pearson F 61 9 15 $3.75m 2 $3.75m
----
To Pittsburgh Pos GP G/W Points Cap Years Cap
Erik Gudbranson D 57 2 8 $4m 2 $4m

The last of the pool-relevant trades was between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks, as they dealt a player that certainly has some potential, but wasn't quite living up to the expectations of their current team and at the same time, addressing some needs for their current squad.

The pool-relevant player in this deal is Tanner Pearson, heading to the Canucks, more on his relevance at the bottom of the post, but he heads down in his second deal of the year already, hoping to find a spot with a team that is retooling up front.  Pearson had a bunch of upside when he joined the Kings, but their defensive style didn't help him out much and then he was dealt to the Penguins earlier in the year, but couldn't find his spot and now he joins the Canucks, a team that has some spots open and constantly looking to improve.  At a $250,000 discount annually to what went the other way, why not?

The Penguins blueline has been decimated this season with injuries, especially of late, so they add a big body in Erik Gudbranson, who cut his teeth in the Eastern Conference with the Panthers and may not have had the foot speed to compete in the west and that may have been his biggest downfall, despite his size.  His numbers don't suggest he'll be brought in for his scoring ability, but his size and rigidity should be a big help to the Penguins down the stretch.

Jeremy held onto Pearson after the deal to Pittsburgh and why not?  He's joining the Penguins and they have centres that can turn pumpkins into just about anything, in theory.  Well, Pearson only saw limited time in the top six with the Pens and now he will shift through the Canucks' lineup, trying to find somewhere he can fit in as well.  The Canucks already added a guy like this in Ryan Spooner, so that will be his nearest competition, but there are only so many spots and so many upper echelon young players the Canucks have to play with, so gains might be tough this time around.  Jeremy's team opens the week in 16th, 17 points out of 13th and 73 points out of the money.

No comments: