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The Canuck Way Mailbag: Pearson, expansion, next season, more

By Brayden Ursel

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 14: Tanner Pearson #70 of the Vancouver Canucks (C) celebrates a power-play goal against the St. Louis Blues at 13:01 of the second period and is joined by Elias Pettersson #40 (L) and Jake Virtanen #18 (R) in Game Two of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 14, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 14: Tanner Pearson #70 of the Vancouver Canucks (C) celebrates a power-play goal against the St. Louis Blues at 13:01 of the second period and is joined by Elias Pettersson #40 (L) and Jake Virtanen #18 (R) in Game Two of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 14, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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The Vancouver Canucks celebrate a goal in the playoffs. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
The Vancouver Canucks celebrate a goal in the playoffs. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /

There is still no Vancouver Canucks hockey being played, but that’s okay! There is plenty of hot topics to discuss as Canucks Twitter went wild this week. Let’s get right into this week’s edition of The Canuck Way mailbag.

This week, Tanner Pearson inked a contract extension to stay a part of the Canucks organization for the next three seasons — and although I’m excited for Pearson as a player — fans are not particularly happy about the signing.

At the age of 29, and with a drop in production this year (11 points through 33 games), it was thought by some that general manager Jim Benning would opt to move the 2014 Stanley Cup winner at this year’s trade deadline.

He’s a two-way forward who can play tough minutes against the best players the opposition has to offer, and he’d make out to be an excellent depth rental for a Cup contending team. Instead, Benning doubled down on a player he called a “good pro”. 

The price of the deal itself is not one to lose your marbles over ($3.25m AAV), but it’s the term and overall situation that has people pulling their hair out. Why would Benning decide to lock up a player who is about to enter the back-nine of his career when he’s previously stated that the Canucks are two years away from being serious contenders?

Another note that has people ready to throw fists is the fact that Benning put pen to paper with a secondary player before talking numbers with pending RFA superstars Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. The Canucks’ cap situation is tight heading into the offseason, and the duo is guaranteed to demand a pretty penny, potentially north of $8 million apiece.

Clearly, Benning believes in Pearson and he’s got a few good reasons to stick to his guns. He’s an all situations kind of player in Vancouver. He can contribute at five-on-five, lead the Canucks’ second power play unit, and be one of the team’s best penalty killers.

He had a career-high 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) through 69 games last season, and he’s taken a $500,000 pay cut to remain a Canuck. My opinion: It’s a good deal for both sides, but Benning needs to get his priorities straight.

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