CANADIANS PICK UP PEARSON
The Montreal Canadiens acquired winger Tanner Pearson and a third-round draft pick in 2025 from the Vancouver Canucks for goaltender Casey DeSmith.
What does it give the Montreal Canadiens
For Montreal, Pearson adds experience and potential secondary scoring to a very young team. He dealt to a serious hand injury last season but appears healthy going into camp. Montreal also adds another good draft pick to their cupboards.
What does it give the Vancouver Canucks
For Vancouver, this trade helps them get under the salary cap prior to the start of training camp. Once healthy, Pearson was going to struggle for minutes in Vancouver. Meanwhile, DeSmith should challenge Arturs Silovs for the backup goaltending job.
Fantasy impact
DeSmith's value increases slightly because he probably stands a better chance at more playing time as a backup to Thatcher Demko in Vancouver than he did as a third-string option in Montreal. As for Pearson, he is probably still not a draft-worthy option (though Montreal's forwards logjam is not as severe as Vancouver's at this time).
