Linden Wants Kes to Stay, Right?

[Brocklovich]

Well If Anaheim was seriously after Kesler with Selanne retiring + Koivu possibly retiring as well they might be desperate to bring him in behind Perry / Getzlaf.

If they could get prospect + #10 + 2015 1st they would be stupid not to make that deal

Sure the 2014 draft might not be overly strong but the fact is you would be getting 2 top 10 picks + a later 2015 pick & a prospect, the influx of youth in that deal would accelerate the rebuild / retool.

As a fan I have no interest in watching this team make the playoffs only to get blitz by the top teams in the west, I know the owner wants to see that as he makes lots of $ per home game.

By keeping Kesler & all available assets (although there are only a few no NTCs on the club) it keeps them not quite good enough for the playoffs and not bad enough for a solid top 5 or higher pick.

[Bang Bang Boogie]

Yea he's extremely overrated by Canucks fans. We had a poll of the top players in the NHL and somehow Kesler was ahead of Richards (after just winning the cup) and Bergeron (after just winning the cup)

I still face palm to this day

Some people think Kesler is better than Bergeron? They must be not watch hockey or know who Bergeron is.

[CrippledCanuck]

Well If Anaheim was seriously after Kesler with Selanne retiring + Koivu possibly retiring as well they might be desperate to bring him in behind Perry / Getzlaf.

If they could get prospect + #10 + 2015 1st they would be stupid not to make that deal

Sure the 2014 draft might not be overly strong but the fact is you would be getting 2 top 10 picks + a later 2015 pick & a prospect, the influx of youth in that deal would accelerate the rebuild / retool.

As a fan I have no interest in watching this team make the playoffs only to get blitz by the top teams in the west, I know the owner wants to see that as he makes lots of $ per home game.

By keeping Kesler & all available assets (although there are only a few no NTCs on the club) it keeps them not quite good enough for the playoffs and not bad enough for a solid top 5 or higher pick.

Although it was stated he didnt say Kesler directly, given how he expressed so much surprise he didn't get kesler at the deadline for what he offered, it might be safe to assume it was kesler he was talking about in the quote below

Murray said he might revisit his trade-deadline attempt to acquire Vancouver center ryan kesler or pursue other upgrades.

“I don’t think I’ll offer as much as I did at the trade deadline,” Murray said, without naming Kesler. “There’s [other] things I might like to do and I would spend — I’m deep enough in players — to do so.” - http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=719946

[Drakrami]

Imagine you are Benning. Would you come in as a new GM and trade away the only player who looked like he could score some goals from last season? And also, how do you replace someone like Kesler? So Kesler is probably here to stay, which I think is a good thing.

[aGENT]

Some people think Kesler is better than Bergeron? They must be not watch hockey or know who Bergeron is.

While I wouldn't go as far as saying he's better than Bergeron, I don't think the gap is as large as some of you seem to be insinuating. Let's not forget that Bergeron has also had the luxury of playing with generally higher caliber linemates and on a deeper team as well the last couple years.

Too many people on here underestimate what depth and talent throughout a roster can do to help elevate the play of your few, best players. It's no coincidence that Kesler (and the twins) enjoyed their best seasons when the team was enjoying it's best depth and had a generally talented, 4 lines deep roster.

[Quoted]

Imagine you are Benning. Would you come in as a new GM and trade away the only player who looked like he could score some goals from last season? And also, how do you replace someone like Kesler? So Kesler is probably here to stay, which I think is a good thing.

122nd in league scoring (43 points, -15). Stats only tell a small part, though. Unless there is some real expectation of a big turnaround, replaceable through trade. The other aspects of his game (back-checking; faceoffs) are harder to measure, but I don't feel losing Kelser will be that much of a set back. If he stays and turns his game around a bit, that's great too.

[TheWheeler]

Why is everyone worried about our 2C when we have a GREAT young kid (Horvat) who is ready to make the jump?

I've said it before - There is absolutely no reason Horvat shouldn't be on the big club next year. 7 out of the top 10 picks in his draft year are in the NHL now. The kid is a rockstar defensively. There is no reason Vancouver can't pull a Monahan and keep him on the team full time. We have the supporting cast that will allow him to succeed.

Let Kesler bring in some more assets we actually need like another 1st round draft pick and a puck moving D to play with Edler.

Am I the only one who'd be excited about having a second straight year of having 2 1st round picks?? It'd be phenomenal for our organization moving forward.

[Brick Tamland]

I'm sick of Kesler's selfish play and would like to see him gone.

Not sure if it is so much selfishness as it is trying to throw the team on his back and carry it when no one else was.

[Provost]

kesler isn't overrated at all. sometimes you people try way too hard to be the devil's advocate. you're not on shiznak's level

It is just good asset management to trade Kesler even if you believe that he will somehow regain his previous form (big "if" there).

We may be planning on being a playoff team after a retool, but Linden has certainly not suggested that he thinks we will be a Cup contender in the near term.

At best, we have Kesler for 2 years before his contract is up and he looks elsewhere for a chance to be on a contender in what will likely be his final contract in the league. Remember this is a guy who signed an offer sheet to leave Vancouver unless they paid up. He signed his last contract here because we were true Cup contenders. If you think he will sign here again on a team that is a fringe playoff hopeful... then I think you are pretty delusional... unless we dramatically overpay and give longer term than we should.

Right now he has good trade value, and there is a window to trade him where he is very attractive because of his cap hit and remaining term... very attractive to a team in "win-now" mode that needs a final couple pieces to be a contender.

He will never be worth more, and we can secure a decent future for our team with just that one move, with the hopes of being a real contender again in 4-5 years as those assets mature.

If you make an Edler trade and move out a couple other veterans like Hansen and possibly Burrows, you can completely restock the cupboards, as well as getting useful roster players in return that will mean you are still a playoff calibre team.

[Provost]

Not sure if it is so much selfishness as it is trying to throw the team on his back and carry it when no one else was.

He has the ability to completely carry a team for sure... what he doesn't have is the ability to bring the team along with him and make them and his linemates better.

He also has the ability to completely mess up the team psyche by whining, diving, and pouting... which he has done at least as often as he has carried the team. Once he starts those antics, you quickly see the other players following and being affected by it.

[Jiggs50]

He has the ability to completely carry a team for sure... what he doesn't have is the ability to bring the team along with him and make them and his linemates better.

He also has the ability to completely mess up the team psyche by whining, diving, and pouting... which he has done at least as often as he has carried the team. Once he starts those antics, you quickly see the other players following and being affected by it.

When's the last time he started whining, diving etc etc??? The best linemates Kesler's had over the course of a full season are Samuelsson and Demitra. If you gave him a legit 2nd line he would produce much better numbers.

As for Kesler being overrated, what do you expect from the home fanbase. Like some said above the gap between Kesler and Toews/Bergeron isn't as big as many think.

[HunterHorvatBure]

We're much better off trading him

[aGENT]

Why is everyone worried about our 2C when we have a GREAT young kid (Horvat) who is ready to make the jump?

I've said it before - There is absolutely no reason Horvat shouldn't be on the big club next year. 7 out of the top 10 picks in his draft year are in the NHL now. The kid is a rockstar defensively. There is no reason Vancouver can't pull a Monahan and keep him on the team full time. We have the supporting cast that will allow him to succeed.

Let Kesler bring in some more assets we actually need like another 1st round draft pick and a puck moving D to play with Edler.

Am I the only one who'd be excited about having a second straight year of having 2 1st round picks?? It'd be phenomenal for our organization moving forward.

Horvat will likely be on the Canucks next year but I'm doubtful he's ready to anchor the second line yet. 3rd line winger...maybe centre, sure.

[riley57]

I don't think you can say either way. I think he's a good player, and whether he gets traded or is kept, I think either would be fine. They might want to see how the season goes, and maybe trade him off at the Deadline as a rental player. Keep in mind, it's the last year of his contract. Let's hope he doesn't catch the injury bug, because that would be bad for both ways.

EDIT: I was wrong. My bad, thanks J.R.

[aGENT]

I don't think you can say either way. I think he's a good player, and whether he gets traded or is kept, I think either would be fine. They might want to see how the season goes, and maybe trade him off at the Deadline as a rental player. Keep in mind, it's the last year of his contract. Let's hope he doesn't catch the injury bug, because that would be bad for both ways.

He's got two seasons left on his contract.

[EmilyM]

The Canucks simply need to change their core. I don't know if anyone still believes this core is the group that will bring us the Cup.

If we don't trade Kesler to at least give us the potential to rebuild the core, what else can we do to shake up this roster?

I'm sick of hearing these fan proposals of trading Edler and Hansen for a golden unicorn. Kesler is our tradeable (if he is indeed lifting his NTC) asset that will fetch us a face altering return. And that's what we need. I don't think changing the support for this core will do anything anymore.

[Honky Cat]

What happens with Kesler will define what Bennings plan is for this team....If they're just trying to make the playoffs,he will be retained,and the Canucks will most likely pick up a free agent for him ....If the Canucks are serious about a complete retool,he will be traded .....Im in the latter camp...If he is to be traded ,it should be now (while he still has an attractive salary and he is fit).

[aGENT]

I'm fine with him staying or going personally (assuming we get quality return anyway) but IMO Kesler staying or going doesn't define what we're doing but more HOW we're doing it.

Him staying does not preclude us from retooling and building towards the future. He'd also be an excellent mentor for our many upcoming two-way C's.

["Bull" Horvat]

Sorry, but it's time to move on with Kes. His value is only going to fall

He might want a top 6 winger he can really trust in scoring in order to really focus on the defensive side of his game. For the poster from page 1 that's saying those who call Kesler selfish doesn't have a clue... bud. Yeah he was his own running engine, pullung 1 on 2 , 1 on 3 moves and being denied over and over again. Imagine if you're on the bench and you see that? You'd be "what is Kes doing man?!"

He made it a lil bit less pathetic for you to watch this game, but that's cause everything else was a mess. Moj in a radio interview mentioned that during a team meeting in the beginning of the season, he was absent and the guys voted to take the A off him. It might say something about how he affects this team

Admit it, we need to continue stacking pieces for the team's future if you really wanna watch entertaining hockey for years to come

[theminister]

In my eyes, if you move Kesler then there would need to be more deals as well. It would need to signal a greater change.

Either Benning is ready and able to make serious roster changes immediately or he waits it out for half a season to assess the new coaching staff and his players value both on the ice and on the market.

However, if during this offseason he gets an offer he feels is too good to pass up, either for Kes or someone else, then that may be a domino that forces other things to happen. He'll have a month until the draft to work the phones and interview his players and new coworkers regarding existing internal dialogue in the organization, ie. he'll have access to medical reports, private club discussions and the like.

Really anything can happen under the current circumstances. All bets are off.