The Vancouver Canucks, whose season is on pause amid a coronavirus outbreak on the team, have signed forward Tanner Pearson to a three-year, $9.75 million contract extension, general manager Jim Benning announced Thursday.
The Canucks also announced that No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko will make $25 million on his five-year contract extension. Team owner Francesco Aquilini had confirmed the deal last week without releasing financial figures.
Pearson offers consistent production, with six goals and five assists while averaging a career-high 16:33 in ice time over 33 games this season. The 28-year-old, who had been set to be a free agent after the season, has never scored 30 goals in a campaign but has scored over 20 twice. He had 21 and 24 assists last season.
He also has 34 playoff games under his belt, winning a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2013-14.
“Tanner is a veteran who’s won a Stanley Cup and leads by example,” Benning said in a statement. “He plays a complete game and provides invaluable leadership experience to our core young players.”
Demko took over as the No. 1 goaltender for the Canucks after Jacob Markstrom went to the Calgary Flames in free agency. The 25-year-old Demko is 12-12-1 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .917 save percentage this season.
Vancouver has not played since March 24 after 25 players and coaches have tested positive for COVID-19 that involves a variant. The NHL hopes the Canucks can play again by the end of next week with hopes of completing their 56-game schedule, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan on Thursday.
Demko is among the Canucks players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.