DENVER – Meaghan Pearson wasn’t with her husband when Tanner was traded Monday to the Vancouver Canucks. She was seeing her doctor in Pittsburgh – the one she found there to help with her pregnancy after Tanner Pearson was traded to the Penguins by the Los Angeles Kings in November.
The unborn Pearson, due in May, is getting around.
"It’s been tough for me, but it’s been tough for her, too, being pregnant and uprooting her from her friends in L.A.," Pearson said Wednesday before making his Canucks debut against the Colorado Avalanche. "Now she’s on the road again.
"My wife’s awesome; she’s always been supportive. She wants to be on the quickest flight out to wherever I am. It’s nice when you go home and realize there’s something pretty special on the way to look forward to in May."
After two trades in three months, the Pearsons are looking for another new doctor. They’ve decided to have their baby back home in Kitchener, Ont., where Meaghan was headed by car from Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
She’ll visit Vancouver for a couple of weeks in March after Tanner and the Canucks complete a three-game road trip. The trade deadline has passed, so Tanner Pearson doesn’t need to worry about any more address changes.
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"It’s been a pretty crazy year, to say the least," the 26-year-old winger told reporters after the Canucks’ morning skate. "At least I was able to get (Monday) night to pack up things and get everything sorted out.
"I don’t think it gets easier whenever you do it – packing everything up, travelling, meeting everyone for the first time all over again. It’s definitely been a hectic couple of days. The guys welcomed me this morning with open arms, so hoping to get the ball rolling."
Apart from the upheaval, it’s been a pretty miserable National Hockey League season for Pearson, who has just nine goals and 15 points in 61 games between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles.
It was just two years ago when Pearson scored 24 goals on a line with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli and looked like a future core piece for the Kings.
But when he began this season with just a single assist in 17 games, Pearson was traded to the Penguins for Carl Hagelin on Nov. 14. And 104 days later, the Penguins dealt him to the Canucks for defenceman Erik Gudbranson.
As a welcome gift – bestowed to earlier newcomers – Canucks coach Travis Green is starting Pearson on a line with Calder Trophy favourite Elias Pettersson and last year’s Calder runner-up, Brock Boeser. Pettersson is 20 years old. Boeser turned 22 on deadline day.
"Whole team of fresh new faces again," Pearson said. "I’m coming to probably the youngest team I’ve been on. I was always one of the young guys, especially in L.A. In Pitt, I was probably middle of the pack. But here I’m maybe on the older side, so it’s definitely weird."
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Pearson’s season was further complicated by a fractured thumb, which the winger played through during a month-long series of painkiller injections.
His shooting percentage this season of 8.6 per cent is below Pearson’s career average of 11.0, but very close to last season’s conversion rate of 8.3 per cent when he scored 15 goals in 82 games for the Kings.
His average time on ice this season of 13:17 is three minutes below what he logged in L.A. two years ago.
Pearson said his difficult year may have affected his confidence.
"Yes and no," he said. "I think every time you get to a new team you maybe click the refresh button, maybe play well with different players. Click with someone and get the ball rolling. You’ve got to come into this situation and just go with it. Get to know the guys, get chemistry going and let it go from there.
"It’s obviously been a tough go. It started off good when I went to Pitt, then I played through an injury for about a month. After that, things kind of settled down. It’s a fresh start here. Hopefully it re-energizes me and I get going again."
• Injured defenceman Alex Edler (concussion) skated with the Canucks for a fourth day but won’t play against the Avalanche. He could return to the lineup Thursday in Arizona, where the starting goalie could be Thatcher Demko, who has returned from a knee injury. Neither Edler nor Demko was made available to the media on Wednesday.
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