Pearson going through "hell" with injury, could miss next Canucks season too: report

Tanner Pearson will miss the rest of this season, if not longer, after a bizarre series of events for the Vancouver Canucks winger.

Pearson broke his hand during a game on November 9 in Montreal. He underwent hand surgery and was supposed to miss 4-6 weeks.

Just 10 days ago, Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau was hopeful that the 30-year-old forward could return to the lineup, saying Pearson was “getting closer” after skating and shooting pucks.

But on Thursday, the Canucks announced that Pearson needed another surgery on his hand after a setback in his recovery.

It means he’ll go nearly a full calendar year in between regular season games if all goes right. And there’s no guarantee of even that.

Additional information: Pearson’s surgery yesterday was his second procedure since the original surgery in November.

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 12, 2023

CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal is reporting that Pearson may have had 3-4 surgeries and that he is “not done with more work on the hand.” Dhaliwal added that there was an infection that caused problems and that Pearson may need more surgeries going forward.

“Could it be career threatening? We don’t know that yet, but I’m told there is no guarantee that Tanner Pearson will be back next season,” Dhaliwal said this morning on Donnie and Dhali. “It is a significant injury.”

In our first segment @DhaliwalSports shared what he knows about Tanner Pearson's injury and the timeline since he originally got hurt.#Canuckshttps://t.co/h4e2SKLzpb pic.twitter.com/uzH0yOxQHv

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) January 13, 2023

Canucks teammate Quinn Hughes told Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston that the situation “wasn’t handled right” following last night’s game in Tampa.

Quinn Hughes on the news Tanner Pearson’s season is over: ‘That wasn’t handled right.’

— Patrick Johnston (@risingaction) January 13, 2023

The quote, which drew a big reaction from fans and media on Twitter, was edited out of the post-game video posted by the Canucks.

On Friday, Hughes clarified that he wasn’t “trying to direct blame at anyone,” as per Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

“I care about my teammates and… hate to see a guy go through hell like that,” said Hughes.

Today after practice, Quinn Hughes followed up his comment Thursday that teammate Tanner Pearson’s injury “wasn’t handled properly.” pic.twitter.com/qjQqIRKjza

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) January 13, 2023

Pearson is under contract for one more year after this season at a $3.25 million cap hit.

The Kitchener, Ontario native has scored 114 points in 221 regular season games for the Canucks since the team acquired him in a 2019 trade with Pittsburgh. Pearson has 272 points during his 590-game NHL career with the Canucks, Penguins, and Kings.

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