page_title: Ryan Kesler
section_title: 2008–2014
hierarchical_section_title: Ryan Kesler / Playing career / Vancouver Canucks / 2008–2014
caption_attribution_description: English: Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler during the pre-game warmup against the Boston Bruins.
context_page_description: Ryan James Kesler is an American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Selected in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Kesler spent the first ten years of his NHL career with the Canucks. He was traded to Anaheim on June 27, 2014. He is best known for being a two-way forward, winning the Selke Trophy in 2011, as well as for his agitating style of play.
  Kesler played junior hockey with the U.S. National Team Development Program from which he then accepted a scholarship to play college hockey with the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. In one season with the Buckeyes, he was an honorable mention for the CCHA All-Rookie Team and was named CCHA Rookie of the Week three times and CCHA Rookie of the Month once. In addition to the U.S. National Team Development Program and the Ohio State Buckeyes, Kesler has also suited up for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, where he was named to the 2005 AHL All-Star Game.
context_section_description: With the departures of Markus Näslund, Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden following the 2007–08 season, the Canucks were left without any captains for the 2008–09 NHL season. On September 30, 2008, Kesler was announced as a Canucks alternate captain with Willie Mitchell and Mattias Öhlund, while Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was named captain. While he at first continued to play on the third line in a largely defensive role with Burrows, head coach Alain Vigneault eventually split the duo in the midst of a poor January for the team. As a result, Kesler was placed on the second line with free agent acquisitions Pavol Demitra and Mats Sundin. Playing in a more offensive role, he set then-personal bests for the 2008–09 season, with 26 goals, 33 assists and 59 points. As a result, he was awarded the Cyclone Taylor Award as team MVP ahead of higher-profile teammates Luongo and Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Kesler gained additional recognition on a league-wide basis as a Frank J. Selke Trophy finalist along with Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished as second runner-up with one first-place vote.
  In the midst of another career year, Kesler signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension with the Canucks on March 19, 2010. The deal was structured to pay Kesler $5 million per season and came a month-and-a-half after general manager Mike Gillis announced he had suspended contract negotiations with all the Canucks' pending free agents until after the 2009–10 season. The Canucks were reportedly looking to sign him at $4.5 million per year while Kesler was asking for $5.5 million. Kesler had made remarks the previous season in March 2009, after Burrows had recently signed a four-year, $2 million per season extension, that more players need to sign contracts below market value in order to develop a winning team. His comments later prompted his agent to refute the idea Kesler would not seek full market value in contract negotiations. Kesler was also contacted by National Hockey League Players' Association director of affairs Glenn Healy, who discouraged Kesler from making similar remarks in the future.
  Kesler completed the 2009–10 campaign with a new personal best in points for the third consecutive season with 75 points (25 goals and 50 assists). With Mats Sundin's retirement and Pavol Demitra being held out of the lineup with injuries, Kesler was moved to his natural center position and joined by wingers Mikael Samuelsson and Mason Raymond. His 26 power play points ranked second on the team to Henrik Sedin. Playing on the second power play unit, he earned many of his points controlling the puck along the half-boards. He also averaged a career-high 19:37 minutes of ice time per game, which ranked second among team forwards to Henrik Sedin. In the subsequent 2010 playoffs, Kesler notched a goal and nine assists in 12 games. After helping the Canucks eliminate the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, he played with a sore shoulder in the second round as Vancouver were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks for the second consecutive year. An MRI did not reveal any serious injury. He admitted following the defeat to not having played his best during the playoffs.
  Following the campaign, he was a Selke Trophy finalist for the second consecutive season, opposite Pavel Datsyuk and Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He ranked second in the league to Datsyuk in takeaways with 83, while blocking 73 shots and recording 95 hits. He lost the award as the first runner-up with 655 voting points, behind Datsyuk's 688.
  Also in the off-season, goaltender Roberto Luongo resigned his team captaincy. As Canucks management waited until the beginning of the 2010–11 season to announce his replacement, Kesler was seen by media and fans as a strong candidate, alongside Henrik Sedin. Henrik was eventually named captain prior to the season-opener and Kesler retained his alternate captaincy.
  The 2010–11 season marked an expanded focus on Kesler's offensive role. He began the season playing on the p
caption: Kesler with the Canucks in October 2008
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