NHL Rumors: Canucks Could Trade Winger

During his most recent 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman noted that the Vancouver Canucks could end up trading Tanner Pearson.

Jim Rutherford has openly stated that his primary plan is to free up cap space. As a result of this, we have also seen J.T. Miller and Conor Garland enter the rumor mill. Although Pearson may not be as big of a name as the other two, he would still get a lot of interest. He's a very solid middle-six winger who is capable of playing both sides.

In 41 games this season, Pearson has seven goals to go along with 18 total points. Those are not bad numbers at all from him. Keep in mind, he just had 18 points with Vancouver last season but played in 51 total games. It seems that the winger is starting to bounce back and could even improve from here.

Pearson is in the first year of his three-year contract. He carries a $3.25 million cap hit and currently has a no-movement clause. However, it changes for next season, as he will instead have a 7-team no-trade list. With this, it seems more likely that a trade involving him would occur during the summer, as they would have far more wiggle room. However, with Vancouver looking to retool, perhaps they could convince him to accept a deal earlier.

Nevertheless, we have another forward now in the rumor mill from the Canucks.