[Donnie & Dhali] Ryan Kesler says he regrets leaving and would love to retire as a Canuck


[Donnie & Dhali] Ryan Kesler says he regrets leaving and would love to retire as a Canuck

30 comments
  1. Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since we traded him for Sbisa, Bonino and a 1st Rounder (McCann). When he was a Canuck, he really did give everything to the team and even played injured. If you watch his “Cribs episode”, he talks about all the replacements parts in his back. It’s too bad he couldn’t win it with us.

    I know he handicapped the team and only waived to Anaheim for a chance to win it all, but looking back, he had every right to do that. It’s in his contract and he worked hard for his NTC. So no hard feelings there.

    Honestly, he was solid player for the Canucks and it would be awesome for him to retire here.

  2. really hope he gets a one day contract from management. Recently seems like he has been showing off how proud of his time as a canuck and also has been doing a lot of stuff for canucks autism network

  3. he definitely didn’t have to go as far as to say he regrets leaving. would love to see him retire as a Canuck!

  4. I don’t think he regrets leaving because he cares so much about the city/team (e.g. Sedins who went down with the ship). Rather he regrets leaving because Anaheim didn’t win the cup. That said I do think he deserves to retire as a Canuck and I hope they do it.

  5. I guess I’m the odd man out but I’m still sour on this. Dude forced our hand to go to two teams and get a crap return. We were falling apart so I don’t blame him for leaving but he really screwed us over.

    The only thing he regrets is not getting the admiration from a Canadian club. No one in Anaheim knows his name. Not to mention the rumours of him not being a kind person.

  6. Players that retire in US markets generally fade into obscurity. Hockey is over shadowed by MLB and NFL. In Canada, if you retire in our cities, you could run for office and win. We genuinely love the players who retire and still call our city home.

  7. In retrospect, I don’t blame him for leaving. Winning was always important to him, he took team friendly deals in order to let management have more cap space to work with.

    That said, he absolutely handled that situation in the worst way possible. He deserved every ounce of hate, every boo he received while playing with the Ducks. In the end, we all lost that trade. It undoubtedly tarnished his legacy here, but it’s time to move on and reflect on his entire career for what it was.

  8. I’m not sure he deserves the same treatment Edler got from the org. One guy refused to leave until he was pushed out and the other abandoned ship as soon as he saw a cloud.

  9. Kesler wanted to leave so he’d have a chance to win. He was singularly focused on that, but given that he was unsuccessful in Anaheim, he finally realizes that the fans there will never and never did like him as much as Canucks fans did. Not surprised he regrets it.

  10. Nothing makes me more happier to see former Canucks players embracing and loving the organization and the fans! They definitely need to do a retirement night for him!

  11. Kesler is just upset because he now realizes that by not retiring here, he lost a lot of name recognition and potential earnings after retiring.

    Nobody outside of Vancouver gives a shit about Guzzler.

  12. Time heals all and I don’t think anybody blamed Kesler for wanting to leave but rather how it all went down by only choosing one spot. Kesler was a huge part of this team’s history, and I think in the times I’ve seen him post retirement he does seem genuinely remorseful about how it all ended. If we could mend fences with Bure we should be able to accept Kes back with open arms.

  13. Jesus, I can’t believe the reaction here. We’ve got a bunch of goldfish.

    The guy demanded a trade basically immediately after we started to suck, and hamstrung us by only agreeing to be traded to a few teams, and now we are seriously considering allowing him to retire a Canuck or be put into the ring of honour?

    Ya, no shit he regrets it, it was a dick move and he deserved all the boos he got when he used to return to Vancouver as a player.

  14. I hope Canucks sign Kesler to a 1 day contract for $1 – so he can retire as a Canucks officially =)

    like Bieksa and Edler <3

    that 2010-2011 dream team season’s core players are all so incredibly special in more ways then just stats and numbers. Ex. the incredible chemistry among the entire team and on each line, the incredible locker room vibes (got to see via post-game interviews with Kesler being a good and photo bombing LOL & side videos like the ones Luongo and Schneider did together, etc), and what they accomplished in just 1 season alone, even without the cup win, they made history (i mean, there is a wikipedia page dedicated to Vancouver Canucks 2010-2011 — because that’s how impactful they were to the hockey world and NHL.)

    love to see all core players from 2010-2011 sign a 1 day contract just to retire as a Canucks officially <3

  15. Cant remember which playoff series but he injured a finger and the medical staff did not want him to play. kes was seriously considered cutting the finger off to play but was advised against it by one of the veterans on the team.

    Yes, he was a prick on and off the ice but he left it all out there and is now trying to make amends for it the last few yrs to the fanbase to secure his legacy i guess. Good on him

  16. As a fan I was never mad at him and perfectly understood why he requested a trade. A lot of us did.

    The team sucked. The management/ ownership sucked. He wanted a cup and deserved a shot at a cup. His contract stipulated a no-trade clause giving him leverage. He gave his heart and soul to the team for many years. The only reason to ever be mad at him would be if you’re a crybaby.

    In fact if you’re honest you’ll admit you wanted to see a whole bunch of big trades even of fan favorites because everyone with half a brain knew the team needed fresh blood. The only untouchables would be the Sedins for the same reason Pittsburgh would never trade Crosby.

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