There are a few newsworthy notes coming out of Vancouver as it pertains to the Vancouver Canucks and what they’re going to do with a handful of players that have a few eyeballs on them. There’s talk of a pending deal for Tanner Pearson, trade speculation on Jake Virtanen and discussion about what the future might hold for Travis Hamonic. Finally, when will Elias Pettersson be back and what is Braden Holtby’s new mask all about?
Pettersson Will Miss a Few More Games
The latest word on forward Elias Pettersson is that he’ll miss a bit more time. The Canucks cited coach Travis Green who suggested the dynamic winger will miss at least another week of game action. He’s been out with an undefined upper-body injury and he’s already missed a handful of games. Fortunately, the Canucks are on a roll without him.
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Tanner Pearson Contract Extension Talk
According to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, the Canucks have yet to extend a contract offer to pending unrestricted free agent Tanner Pearson. Speculation is that things will get “more serious” this week but so far, there’s not been much action on a new deal.
Pearson, 28, carries a $3.75MM cap hit this season and is in the final year of a four-year, $15 million deal. After playing extremely well with the Los Angeles Kings, and scoring 45 points in 2019-20 with the Canucks, he’s not had a great run in Vancouver in 2020-21. Pearson has just five goals and 10 points in 31 games so far and it’s sure to affect the numbers on a potential extension.
He’s a player the Canucks want to keep, but they may try to use his production this season as leverage to get him signed to a lower deal in a financially difficult time.
Braden Holtby’s New Mask
Goaltender Braden Holtby has had a new goalie mask designed and it’s pretty incredible. He collaborated with Indigenous artist Luke Marston as well as the custom goalie mask designer David Gunnarsson, also known as Daveart and the new design features an eagle in the Coast Salish art style.
One of the reasons a new mask was made was because Holtby shared a mask designed by Gunnarsson before the season that was accused of appropriating Indigenous art. The netminder apologized and took to working with Indigenous artists on a new design that celebrates the rich history of their art within the Pacific Northwest in an authentic way.
Benning Changes Tune on Virtanen Trade?
It seems like there’s been talk for a couple of seasons that the Canucks might want to move forward Jake Virtanen. This season especially, there have been times it was believed the best move was to give him a change of scenery and word that he has been shopped on several occasions. Apparently, GM Jim Benning has changed his mind.
Irfaan Gaffar of The Fourth Period tweets that now, if Benning is going to move the forward, it will only for an offer he “can’t refuse.” If accurate, that’s somewhat surprising considering Virtanen has just three goals and no assists in 26 games this season.
Admittedly, if the Canucks do move the player, they would be selling low. This could just be Benning making it clear that he’s not going to dump Virtanen just to clear cap space. Virtanen’s $2.55 off the books would help alleviate some of the pressure Benning has to be feeling right now.
Hamonic Wants to Stay Long-Term
Speculation is that Travis Hamonic wants to stick around long-term with the Canucks, if the team is interested in extending him. The veteran defenseman understands it might take some time before the two sides even start talking about another deal, but he’s hoping that happens.
Hamonic told Ben Kuzma of The Province that he signed a one-year deal in Vancouver because he believed there was the potential for a longer stay. If that doesn’t pan out and the Canucks have other contracts that require leaving Hamonic as an afterthought, the blueliner will hit unrestricted free agency again this summer.
Buzz is that he’ll try to stick with a Western Canadian team.
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