When the NHL lockout ended and play resumed for the 2005–06 NHL season, Kesler joined the Canucks for his first full season with the team, playing in all 82 games and finishing the season with 23 points. With his entry-level contract expiring in the off-season, Kesler rejected a $564,000 qualifying offer from the Canucks before becoming a restricted free agent on July 1, 2006. Unable to come to terms on a new deal with the Canucks, Kesler signed a one-year, $1.9-million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers on September 12. The offer sheet from Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke was the first in the NHL since the Tampa Bay Lightning extended one to Brett Hauer in July 1999. The move was highly controversial, with many NHL general managers criticizing how Kesler's inflated salary would affect future free agent signings. The Canucks had one week to either match the offer or receive a second round draft pick from the Flyers in 2007 as compensation. Two days after the signing, the Canucks matched the Flyers' offer.