Ryan Kesler- " I left to win a cup... I honestly regret that now" Kesler on demanding a trade out of Van

[Stringer Bell]

Did he not have to go because of Cory Schneider?

 

[OVO16]

And laying out Kadri

Dont think anyone remembers that outside of canucks fans.

 

[Coffee]

Dont think anyone remembers that outside of canucks fans.

Woo back

Also cap

 

[AvroArrow]

Should've spent more time trying to compete instead of diving and doing cartwheels, maybe would have won a cup

 

[PaulD]

Dont think anyone remembers that outside of canucks fans.

and Kadri

 

[tanti9]

Say what you want about Kesler but as a Canuck for the most part was a brilliant two player. I remember when he broke in and his shot could not break a pane of glass lol. But like Hughes, over a summer his wrist shot became a lethal weapon as he had that desire to continuously improve. I still have Kesler's purple Vancouver millionaire jersey.

He gave his heart and soul and sacrificed his body for Vancouver, reminds me somewhat of another American center that currently plays for the Canucks. Hope Kesler signs a one day contract and retires a Canuck.

 

[AvroArrow]

Say what you want about Kesler but as a Canuck for the most part was a brilliant two player. I remember when he broke in and his shot could not break a pane of glass lol. But like Hughes, over a summer his wrist shot became a lethal weapon as he had that desire to continuously improve. I still have Kesler's purple Vancouver millionaire jersey.
,
He gave his heart and soul and sacrificed his body for Vancouver reminds me somewhat of another American center that currently plays for the Canucks. Hope Kesler signs a one day contract and retires a Canuck.

 

[tantalum]

Canuck fans would also love to undo that trade Kes....

Sbisa lol.

 

[Terry Yake]

hindsight is always 20/20

would he have regretted it if the ducks had won it all in 2015 or 2017? 2015 was their best chance but they didn't bother showing up for game 7 like they did 4 years in a row

i'm sure he wishes he could've stayed with the canucks his entire career, but it's not like they were going anywhere when he requested a trade

 

[Perfect_Drug]

As a basically Nucks fan living in Vancouver (grew up in Toronto, Leafs fan first, but lived in Van the past 20 years and they're my 2nd fave team), this is nothing new, he's expressed regret about forcing his way off the team/how he handled it a number of times. Nucks fans hated Kesler for quite awhile after he forced a trade, but between him apologizing/expressing regret, and Bieksa speaking up for him a bunch, I think most Nucks fans are past the hate and back to liking him.

For example, he got tonnes of cheers and love at the Nucks game last night: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/kesler-slams-beer-canucks-game

IMO the only ex-Nuck who is still particularly hated by Nucks fans is Messier.

Ironically the greatest player ever to wear a Canucks Jersey.

 

[Rowlet]

Ironically the greatest player ever to wear a Canucks Jersey.

Everyone knows this, that doesn't make him the best Canuck.

 

[SEALBound]

God I remember when Shero wanted him on the Penguins. I think the offer was Sutter+1st. He would have had a much better chance at a cup had he gone to Pittsburgh circa 2014.

 

[BluesyShoes]

I'm just saying if he had cared about the Canucks team in any way at that time, he wouldn't have handcuffed the org that way. That being said, I still appreciated what he did for the team. He was a heart and soul guy that gave a lot when he was there and his past sacrifices shouldn't be dismissed or diminished.

He negotiated trade rights into his contract, so I really don't like the notion that players shouldn't exercise them for the good of the team. Demanding a trade and exercising your NTC is rather unpalatable, but usually the NTC's are negotiated by discounting the contract money in one way or another.

 

[bossram]

If he would have won a cup, he wouldn't have regretted it

It's a "since I didn't win anyway, I would have preferred to stay" thought. He'd pick not winning in Vancouver over not winning anywhere else, but he at the time left Vancouver because he wanted to win.

Hilariously he blocked a trade to the Penguins at the 2014 deadline and the Penguins ended up winning 2 cups shortly after. Granted I don't know if that would have happened had the Kesler trade actually happened, they almost certainly couldn't have acquired Kessel had they traded for Kesler.

IIRC it wasn't Kesler that blocked that trade to the Pens. It was ownership - they didn't want to "rebuild".

Kesler was a good Canucks for a lot of years. I have no ill will toward him.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Canuck fans would also love to undo that trade Kes....

Sbisa lol.

anaheim’s assets in the summer of 2014

young forwards: rakell (21), w. karlsson (21), smith-pelly (22), etem (22), palmieri (23), silfverberg (23), bonino (26)

young d: lindholm (21), manson (22), fowler (22), despres (22), vatanen (23), sbisa (25)

picks: #10 (ritchie), #24 (mccann), #38 (marcus pettersson), #55 (montour)

so within 24 hours of the trade, anaheim was stocked with six young dmen better than sbisa, or seven if you count despres before concussions destroyed his career

i mean, how do you get the lesser asset in all three categories?

never forget

 

[cc]

He negotiated trade rights into his contract, so I really don't like the notion that players shouldn't exercise them for the good of the team. Demanding a trade and exercising your NTC is rather unpalatable, but usually the NTC's are negotiated by discounting the contract money in one way or another.

Nobody is arguing that he shouldn't be exercising his rights. However, his trade demand and the restrictions he placed (again as is his right) demonstrated his concern or care for the team he was leaving. It's clear that he showed little concern or care for the team, organization, or city at that time when he made his decision he wanted out.

I'm also not even saying things would have turned out better for Canucks if he provided a list of teams instead of 1 or 2. Perhaps Benning would have bungled the trade regardless, but that's not relevant to what I'm saying.

 

[Terry Yake]

anaheim’s assets in the summer of 2014

young forwards: rakell (21), w. karlsson (21), smith-pelly (22), etem (22), palmieri (23), silfverberg (23), bonino (26)

young d: lindholm (21), manson (22), fowler (22), despres (22), vatanen (23), sbisa (25)

picks: #10 (ritchie), #24 (mccann), #38 (marcus pettersson), #55 (montour)

so within 24 hours of the trade, anaheim was stocked with six young dmen better than sbisa, or seven if you count despres before concussions destroyed his career

i mean, how do you get the lesser asset in all three categories?

never forget

he was only willing to accept a trade to a couple teams, so its not like the canucks had room to negotiate. they were backed up against a wall

 

[BruinsFan37]

I think most players in order of preference would:

- Want to win a cup with the team they started with.
- Want to win a cup with a team other than the one they started with.
- Stay with the same team for their entire career (but no cup)
- Change teams a bunch (but no cup).

There's nothing really shocking here. If he had won a cup in Anaheim he would have said: "I only regret that I couldn't have won one in Vancouver"

 

[Frosted Tips]

Loved him as a Duck, what a warrior. I can understand where he's coming from by saying that though. It's too bad the Ducks weren't able to win the Cup.

 

[Breakers]

guy gave them 1 option to trade him to

 

[JPeeper]

Once a loser, always a loser.

 

[Oddbob]

I agree with those who say he wouldn't have said this, had Anaheim won the Cup.

 

[HanSolo]

As a basically Nucks fan living in Vancouver (grew up in Toronto, Leafs fan first, but lived in Van the past 20 years and they're my 2nd fave team), this is nothing new, he's expressed regret about forcing his way off the team/how he handled it a number of times. Nucks fans hated Kesler for quite awhile after he forced a trade, but between him apologizing/expressing regret, and Bieksa speaking up for him a bunch, I think most Nucks fans are past the hate and back to liking him.

For example, he got tonnes of cheers and love at the Nucks game last night: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/kesler-slams-beer-canucks-game

IMO the only ex-Nuck who is still particularly hated by Nucks fans is Messier.

The feeling is mutual. I watched the guy look at a fan who tried to get him to sign a photo of him in the Nucks uniform and then say "I'm not signing that shit"
(NHL awards)