Golden Knights Sign Former Canadiens Forward to PTO

Tanner Pearson gets a chance to continue his NHL career with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Feb 27, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Tanner Pearson (70) looks on during warm-up before the game against the Arizona Coyotes at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports / David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed forward Tanner Pearson to a professional tryout agreement, the team announced Tuesday night.

Pearson, 32, is an 11-year NHL veteran who has 644 career games under his belt. The Kitchener, Ontario native spent last season with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 54 games.

Previously, Pearson played for the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks. He has appeared in 644 NHL games over 11 seasons, registering 285 points (138 goals, 147 assists) over his career.

Pearson also has 51 playoff games under his belt, the majority of which came during the Kings' 2014 Stanley Cup run. He has scored 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in the postseason.

Unfortunately, Pearson has suffered some gruesome injuries over his career. His 2014-15 season ended when he suffered a broken fibula in January 2015, but even that pales in comparison to what he dealt with during the 2022-23 season.

In November of 2022, Pearson suffered a hand injury and underwent surgery to fix it. Then just two months later, the Canucks announced that Pearson had undergone his third hand surgery since November and would be out for the rest of the season. Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes said the injury was "not handled properly" and both the Canucks and the NHLPA to investigate the situation.

If Pearson sticks around in Vegas, he would provide some much-needed forward depth. The Knights saw several key forwards, most notably leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault and two-way center Chandler Stephenson, leave in free agency, and their depth up front looks a bit shaky as a result. Pearson obviously won't fill that void by himself, but every little bit helps.

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