Tanner Pearson Autograph Card

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Maybe there's a lesson to be learned from Tyler Toffoli's climb atop the goal-scoring charts after signing as a free agent with the Montréal Canadiens, and perhaps the Vancouver Canucks should think twice about the option of trading the former member of the Stanley Cup-winning That 70s Line (Los Angeles Kings, 2014) right away and instead sign him to a reasonable, mid-term deal.

Further complicating things is the fact that he's set to miss four weeks of play due to a lower-body injury and that he's at nearly half the best of last season's career best goals-per-game (0.30) and points-per-game (0.63) averages as the Canucks have struggled mightily against the Habs putting them in danger of missing the playoffs.

I believe he has three more years of second-line hockey in him and at least the same number of quality third-line time before he has to think about exiting the game, which would lead him to age 35.

Here he is wearing the King's black (home) uniform on the signed insert version of card #TR-TP from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph and serves as his rookie card (from the Rookie Class sub-set) in the set's.

Tanner Pearson Autograph Card

Tanner Pearson scored the overtime winner for the Los Angeles Kings last night against the San Jose Sharks. It created a bit of controversy, as some may have thought he was off-side (he wasn't) and Sharks fans thought Dustin Brown's hit that led to the puck being free may have been illegal (it wasn't, it was a textbook example of a great check).

It's hard to realize Pearson's barely 23 and in his third NHL season, because he and Tyler Toffoli had an immediate impact on the Kings, with the rookies playing on the team's most talked-about line (dubbed That 70s Line because both rookies and center Jeff Carter have uniform numbers in the 70s) as they won the Stanley Cup.

Pearson had 12 points in 24 games in the Cup run, and has shown to be able to produce at a half-point per game clip in the regular season since, yet he amped it up in this year's playoffs again, currently standing at 3 points in 3 games despite his team trailing 2-1 in the series.

Further proof that the Kings' scouting staff know exactly what to look for in a player, he was passed over completely the first two times he was eligible to be drafted, yet the Kings selected him in the first round (30h overall) after winning their first Cup in 2012; usually, players who get passed over at ages 17-19 fall to (at least) the third round as "projects", but the Kings knew what they needed to focus on with him and ten months later, he was suiting up in his first NHL playoff game, against the Sharks.

Here he is wearing L.A.'s black (home) uniform on the black variant autographed insert version of card #355 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set (part of the Dual Rookie Class sub-set, thus acting as his Rookie card):

It's a mostly-foil card that features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.