In a notable trade development, the Vancouver Canucks have exchanged Tanner Pearson, along with a 2025 3rd Round Pick for Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Casey DeSmith. This trade comes as the Canucks were actively seeking salary cap relief, and it’s a significant move that could impact both teams’ rosters for the upcoming season.
The details of this trade were confirmed through various sources, with no salary retained by either team. The pick is to account for the difference in salary between DeSmith and Pearson. Pearson, who was recently taken off the Long-Term Injury (LTI) list by the Canucks, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent. His cap hit for the upcoming season was $3.25 million. DeSmith comes in at a cap hit of $1.8 million.
Tanner Pearson’s move to the Montreal Canadiens adds depth to their forward lineup and provides valuable experience to the team. He had been actively training in the Vancouver area for the past two weeks, demonstrating his readiness to return to competitive action.
It was a challenging period of rehabilitation from a hand injury sustained during a game in November. Initially expected to have a brief recovery period, complications arose due to a post-operative infection. This necessitated a series of follow-up procedures, including continuous intravenous antibiotic treatment to combat the infection. Pearson’s determination and successful recovery make him a valuable asset for the Canadiens. For taking on his salary, the Canadiens also get a little future potential through the included 3rd Round Pick in 2025.
As for the Vancouver Canucks, the acquisition of Casey DeSmith fills a crucial goaltending role. The move addresses their goaltending needs where he’ll play the backup role to Thatcher Demko.
Frank Seravalli tweeted, “And in case you were wondering, Habs have plenty of cap room – they won’t need to place Carey Price on off-season LTIR in order to make this transaction work.” As per CapFriendly, “Montreal is currently showing as $6,177,916 above the ceiling based on a roster of 23. This will change significantly before the start of the season given that we show the Habs with 9D (which won’t be the case) and 4 players on IR.”
Next: Is Jaroslav Halak Headed to the Colorado Avalanche?
