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Let's Face It, Kesler Is Better Suited To Be A 3Rd Line Center


Nucks-4-Life

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no. Kesler is a solid 2nd line center. having him on the 3rd line would be similar to what Jordan Staal is in Pitt.... who could also play 2nd line C on 90% of teams around the league.

I think we need a playmaking winger who can hold onto pucks and add some creativity amongst the north/south hard to the net, speed game that both Kesler and Booth play. Patrick Kane would be the perfect fit imo.

Lui and Edler for Kane.

Sign Weber.

boom.

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kesler is a second line center by merit of his scoring abilities, but i personally don't believe any second line centered by him will be a consistently good unit. he makes his linemates worse instead of better. he's a black hole.

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Last year, Kesler had such a dangerous wrist shot, it was such a quick release it fool goalies. However I think not being able to work on it in the off-season and the shoulder injury he suffered this year really messed up his shot. He didn't have the quick release in his shots anymore, he's slow on them which gives opponents chance to get their stick in his shot.

I think he's going to work hard on regaining that shot this off-season and will build some real chemistry with Booth. They will come back and show what a dangerous duo they can be together and prove all those who want him traded wrong.

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Guest BuckFoston

What hurts so much about this is that we lost Hodgson who could have been our 2nd line centerman and got those cushy offensive minutes.

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Kesler takes 3 years to let his shot go, and its predictable that he is going to shoot... the effectiveness of his shot came from the fact he worked so hard on it and he was so strong so it was a rocket. With his hip injury to beging with, and then shoulder injury to end with, he didn't have nearly the zip or accuracy on it this year.

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The way he plays now he is better suited to be a second line winger. 3 years ago he was a better 3rd line center. His game has changed so much that AV tries to pull him away from checking matchups. I think he is great the way he plays but AV has to put him on the wing.

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I just knew this would come back to the Hodgson trade. How's Hodgson doing playing big minutes on the second line in Buffalo?

It's ridiculous to even compare Kesler and Hodgson. Kesler is better than Hodgson in every facet of the game... speed, skill, grit, defensive and offensive ability.

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Kesler is not superior to Hodgson in skill and offensive ability. Sorry, but no. There are things about Kesler and his game that enable him to put up goals and points easier, like his size and speed, but let's not pretend that he's more skilled than Cody Hodgson.

That being said, no he's not a 3rd line centre. Like everyone else is saying, it was an off year for him for many reasons. Not only did he just score 41 goals last season, but he also put up 50 assists and 75 points the season before. That's the curious thing about Kesler. This year I was almost convinced that the guy couldn't make passes and be a playmaker but the fact he put up 50 helpers 2 seasons ago, which ranked him 14th that season and would rank him 9th/10th this season, by the way, has me really scratching my head.

While Kesler is a Canuck, the 2nd line will be built around him. Somehow, though, the coaching staff has to find a way to get Kesler's playmaking ability back. Don't get me wrong, his goal scoring is also key, but I think the offense in general is better off if he can dish the puck consistently. Consider this: although last season was the Canucks' best season all around in franchise history, I consider the 09/10 season the Canucks' best offensive season in recent memory. A big part of that was Kesler putting up 50 assists, which largely contributed to Raymond's career year of 25 goals and 53 points and Samuelsson's whopping 30 goal season. That was a great 2nd line and it was great because Kesler was able to make plays instead of just keep the puck for himself and fire it on net all the time.

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