Quinn Hughes blames Canucks for teammate Tanner Pearson’s injury

On Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks announced that forward Tanner Pearson will miss the remainder of this season after undergoing a second surgery on his injured hand. It was also revealed that Pearson required the surgery after a setback in his recovery.

This prompted his teammate and defenseman Quinn Hughes to express his frustration towards the club after their 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Hughes believes the Canucks are to blame in what’s happening to Pearson.

“I feel bad for him. I mean, it wasn’t handled properly and you know, it’s not really a good situation he’s got there and hopefully he’s going to be alright,” Hughes said, per The Province.

Pearson is a beloved teammate and he has been missed since he last played when he got injured during the Nov. 9 game against the Montreal Canadiens. He underwent surgery the next day. The forward was expected to to be out four to six weeks, but that’s clearly not the case anymore. Now his season is over…

We understand why Hughes is upset. Especially if the setback could have been prevented. When head coach Bruce Boudreau was asked about a do-over on the decision for Pearson to have surgery, the bench boss said he wasn’t involved in the decision.

“I have no idea, that’s not my call,” he said, per The Province. “I really like Tanner a lot and so it really is sad news. Here’s a guy, he’s over 30 and you lose a year? It’s really tough and I feel for him. But I know he’ll come back stronger than ever.”

Pearson ended up playing just 14 games this season, recording one goal and five points. In 590 NHL career games, the first round pick in 2012 has put up 133 goals and 272 points in 590 games with the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Canucks. He came to Vancouver in a trade during the 2018-19 season from the Penguins in exchange for defenseman Erik Gudbranson.

Pearson has a year left on his current contract, a three-year deal with an annual salary cap hit of $3.25 million signed at the end of the 2020-21 season.