Vancouver Canucks forward Tanner Pearson met with the media Saturday for the first time since suffering a season-ending hand injury in November. The injury has required multiple surgeries putting the veteran forward's career in jeopardy

For the first time since suffering what seemed like a routine hand injury in a game in Montreal on November 9th, Vancouver Canucks forward Tanner Pearson spoke publicly on Saturday. Of course there has been nothing routine about the injury and the multiple surgeries it has since required. 

The ordeal reached a flashpoint in January when teammate Quinn Hughes questioned the way Pearson's injury and subsequent recovery had been handled by the hockey club. And that, in turn, led to an unprecedented press conference to address the situation during which President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford was flanked by two of the team's top doctors.

While Pearson tried his best to avoid placing blame and further fanning the flames of a saga that has placed his hockey future in jeopardy, the 30-year-old winger made it abundantly clear how frustrated he is with the the situation he is in.

"It's been a crappy year to say the least and right now I'm taking it day by day and week by week and keep trying to progress," he said as Canucks players met with the media at Rogers Arena one final time before scattering for the summer. 

When asked point blank if he felt the Canucks medical staff had mishandled his situation, Pearson paused and then drew a deep breath before responding.

"I'm not going to share my personal opinions. The people that need to know what's going on know and I'm going to keep it that way," he said. "I'm just trying to get my hand back. I'm just trying to go home and be with a dad and be with my kids and be able to play at the moment. It sucks."

Due to the injury, Pearson was limited to just 14 games this season scoring once and adding four assists. He has one year remaining on a three-year contract that carries a $3.25M cap hit. That deal will likely wind up on the long term injured list if Pearson is unable to resume his playing career.

He said Saturday he plans to approach the summer like he will be ready for training camp in September. But it's hard to imagine he'll be able to train fully with a hand that may require more medical procedures. And if he can't devote himself to training at a level required to compete in a league that his getting younger and faster by the year, it's difficult to see a path to a resumption of his career.

"I'm going to approach this summer like I'm still a hockey player. I have to, right? If not, I come back way behind the eight ball," he said. "It's going to be a really, really hard summer. I know that. I'm prepared for it. I've started to get back in the gym already, so it's actually nice to get moving again."

While Pearson's appearance was the surprise of the day, he wasn't the only Canuck player with things to say on his way out the door:

Brock Boeser on trade talk that will likely start up again now that the season is over:

"To be completely honest with you, I don't want to be traded. I have expressed how much I love it here. Obviously, it was a tough year personally with my game earlier in the season. I think it was a blessing in disguise that I didn't get traded. I really thought I started to find my game after the trade deadline and the last bit of the season. Tocc (Rick Tocchet) has been great. The whole coaching staff has been great. Everyone knows the direction that we're going and setting the standard and becoming better, I want to be a part of that, so I'm going to express that."

Elias Pettersson on if he believes the component parts are in place for the Canucks to have success:

"All I care about...I want to win. These guys just want to win. To get there, it's not going to be an easy process but I think we're all up for the challenge and ready to do the hard work to get there because winning is fun"

Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered an ankle sprain on February 15th against the New York Rangers and wasn't seen again in a Canucks uniform missing the final 27 games of the season. The veteran defenseman was asked about his disappointing season:

"I'm obviously disappointed in my season and I'm looking forward to the summer to really work out and come in in great shape. I broke foot at the Worlds last year and kind of had to battle through in the summer and felt like it was not ideal to come into camp. I hope I have a really good summer and really want to get better and prove that I'm still a good player."