Updated at 1:14 PM: Per the Red Wings on Twitter…
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today signed center Chase Pearson to a one-year contract.
Details: https://t.co/HB6Al6tuoM pic.twitter.com/4BbLOVDF1F— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 21, 2022
Pearson accepted his qualifying offer, a two-way contract ($917,831, $70,000 AHL). Requires waivers to be assigned to @griffinshockey Will be an RFA again next summer. https://t.co/i3HMwcbT6O— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 21, 2022
And, from the Red Wings’ PR department:
RED WINGS RE-SIGN CHASE PEARSON TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
… Forward Made NHL Debut With Detroit in Third Pro Season …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed center Chase Pearson to a one-year contract.
Pearson, 24, recorded four hits and 7:40 average time on ice in three appearances with the Red Wings in 2021-22, making his NHL debut on March 24 against the New York Islanders. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound center also skated in 50 games for the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins last season, totaling 18 points (7-11-18) and 18 penalty minutes. During the 2020-21 campaign, Pearson recorded 22 points (8-14-22) in 28 games with Grand Rapids and ranked among the team leaders with eight goals (4th), 14 assists (T3rd), 22 points (3rd) and two power-play goals (T3rd), while logging only two penalty minutes. In all, Pearson has played in 147 AHL games since making his professional debut at the end of the 2018-19 season, notching 64 points (25-39-64) and 41 penalty minutes.
Originally selected by the Red Wings in the fifth round (140th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Pearson spent three seasons at the University of Maine from 2016-19 prior to turning pro, serving as the team’s captain as a sophomore and junior. In 107 games at the NCAA level, Pearson registered 78 points (37-41-78), a plus-18 rating and 132 penalty minutes. He was named Hockey East’s Best Defensive Forward and was a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star in 2018-19. Pearson played parts of three seasons with the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League from 2013-16, totaling 76 points (24-52-76), a plus-42 rating and 157 penalty minutes in 114 games. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native also won bronze for the United States at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge, chipping in six points (2-4-6) in five games.
Update: Here’s a bit more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen:
The Red Wings signed Pearson to a one-year contract Thursday, even though he didn’t have the kind of season he wanted in 2021-22. He posted seven goals and 18 points in 50 games last season.
“His numbers were down,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Ben Simon said at his season-ending press conference. “He had a couple injuries that led to a little bit of his demise this year. But we’re not giving up on Chase Pearson.”
The 6-foot-3 center did play three games with the Detroit Red Wings, averaging nine shifts per game. His playing time average was just under seven minutes.
“I thought Chase had a really good training camp,” Simon said. “Came out of the gates pretty strong. I think Chase would be first one to tell you he was disappointed with his year.”
The Red Wings view Pearson, 24, as a potential role player on the parent club.
“He’s an extremely strong kid, an extremely intelligent kid,” Simon said. “We just got to make sure he’s ready to go for next season and making sure that he wants it. Chase’s biggest thing he needs to focus on is wanting it. We talked about it at the exit meetings. It wouldn’t surprise me if he goes on to have a career, whether it’s with Detroit or someone else, and plays another 15 years as an NHL player because he has a lot of the tools and physical attributes to become an NHL player.”
