Ex-Penguins forward Tanner Pearson rediscovers his confidence with Canucks
Tanner Pearson doesn’t dispute the notion that his play with the Penguins was underwhelming.
In fact, he even uses a word some might consider a vulgarity to describe it.
“It kind of (stunk),” Pearson said. “At the same time, it’s hockey. It happens. When things started declining, I kind of got back to the mode that I was at at the start of the season. I really enjoyed my time here. A great organization. But things didn’t work out. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
In hopes of shaking up his stagnant roster, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford traded forechecking forward Carl Hagelin, a wildly popular player with fans and teammates alike as well a member of the franchise’s two most recent Stanley Cup title runs, to the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 14. In return, they acquired Pearson, a former first-round pick who has a 20-goal season and a Stanley Cup ring from 2014 on his resume.
The reasoning in adding Pearson was sound. While he wasn’t as fast as the supersonic Hagelin, he did bring a fair amount of speed and he had some scoring touch. He could, ideally, fit in with the Penguins’ fleet of skilled forwards and fill the net on a regular basis.
Those hopes seemed to be realized early on in his time with the Penguins as he produced a solid four points (three goals, one assist) in his first six games with the team while primarily playing on a line with all-stars Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.
But after that, the offense dried up as Pearson could only muster 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his final 38 games with the Penguins.
A mere 104 days after joining the Penguins, he was traded back to the West Coast, this time to the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline on Feb. 25 in exchange for defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
“It was pretty hectic obviously,” Pearson said. “My wife was pregnant the whole time. Then, I went to Vancouver. Had my baby in May. That made things not so easy. You go to different teams, a lot of guys have the same things in common. I got to see 40 new faces last year, but it’s worked out well here so far.”
In the final 19 games of the 2018-19 season with Vancouver, Pearson rediscovered his scoring touch as he netted 12 points (nine goals, three assists).
This season, while primarily playing on the second line with captain Bo Horvat and Josh Leivo, Pearson has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 25 games. He is also second on the team in shots with 69.
“Last year was kind of crazy,” Pearson said. “But ever since I got here last year, things seemed to click and I finished off the year strong. I got some confidence back and tried to carry it over to this year. Getting back to my game — I think I’ve done a good job of doing that.”
The Canucks have been one of the more surprising teams in the NHL this season with a 12-9-4 record, good enough for third place in the Pacific Division. Having missed the past four postseasons, there is hope the Canucks and Pearson could play meaningful games in the spring.
“We made some additions this summer to get a bit heavier team and be harder on the forecheck,” Pearson said. “It’s a good fit for me.”
Notes:
• The Penguins did not hold a morning skate.
• Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom is expected to start. In 16 games this season, he has a 7-6-3 record along with a 2.72 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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