Hughes claims Pearson’s injury was not properly treated.

Quinn Hughes was not happy to hear that teammate Tanner Pearson would miss the rest of the 2022-23 season after undergoing his second surgery of the year. (Getty Images)

Quinn Hughes was unhappy to learn that Tanner Pearson, a Vancouver Canucks teammate, would be missing the remainder of the 2022-23 hockey season after undergoing the second of his year-long surgeries. (Getty Images)

A Vancouver Canucks player’s injury has ended his 2022-23 season and one of his teammates isn’t happy about how it was handled.

Tanner Pearson saw his season end after he underwent a second procedure on his hand. This was in November. The team announced that Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning would be Tanner Pearson’s last. Quinn Hughes, a star defenseman, was asked how the locker-room reacted after the final 5-4 loss. He was quite blunt in his response.

“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 via The Province.

Pearson has not played in a single game since Nov. 9th in Montreal. That was the night he sustained his first injury to his hand and went under a knife the next day. Although the 30-year old forward was originally expected to miss only four to six week, his recovery was far from complete. He had to have a second operation and his season is over.

It’s no easy task to be content with finishing your season after only 14 games and scoring five points. This is especially true after an injury that left you out for six weeks.

When asked if the team should’ve done something differently when it came to Pearson’s injury, Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau said, “I have no idea, that’s not my call.”

“I really like Tanner a lot and so it really is sad news,” he said. “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 has been signed through next season with a cap hit at $3.25 million. This means that he won’t be on the market as an unrestricted, free agent looking to prove to other teams that he is healthy.

This drama over a depth scorer’s season-ending injury is just the latest story surrounding the Canucks this season. Boudreau has an expiring contract, and there are discussions about a coaching switch; defenseman Oliver Ekman Larsson, who still has four years of an $86.6-million contract, was made a healthy scratch on ThursdayJ.T. signed an eight-year contract after signing it. Miller’s production has dried up; and despite being one of the NHL’s worst teams, management and ownership refuse to rebuild.

This is only a small sample of the many happenings in Vancouver.

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