Ryan Kesler's may be done for the season.

Kesler appears to be done.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Ryan Kesler's may be done for the season.
Joe Camporeale/CSM/Zuma

It seems that one of the National Hockey League's most universally reviled players will not be back out on the ice this season.

According to a report from Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register there are now significant signs that point to the fact that Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler will not play another NHL game during the 2018 - 2019 NHL regular season. The issue keeping him off the ice appear to be the lingering hip injury that has been plaguing him for years now and at this stage of his career you have to start being concerned about how much this hip issue may derail the later stages of his career.

“I don’t know if we’re going to see him again this year,” admitted Bob Murray, the Anaheim Ducks’ general manager and currently their self appointed interim coach as well.

The hip issue has limited Kessler for the better part of the past two seasons and it seems that his desire to reach a massive personal career milestone may have provided him the motivation he needed to continue fighting through the grueling injury night after night. That being said that motivation is now gone and Kesler's season may be gone with it. 

From Teaford:

Kesler underwent major hip surgery after the 2016-17 season and hasn’t been the same player since. Kesler, a Selke Trophy winner and a five-time finalist, played only 44 games last season, scoring only eight goals and 14 points. He has three goals and eight points in 60 games this season.

His last appearance, against the Blues, was the 1,001st game of his NHL career. One night earlier, against the Coyotes, he played his 1,000th game, reaching a milestone that drove him through countless hours of rehabilitation exercises and off-ice workouts after his surgery.

Asked about whether or not there was a time frame for Kesler's potential recovery or whether or not there was a possibility of him returning this season Murray did not sound at all hopeful. 

“I don’t know when he’s coming back,” Murray said. “He’s hurting pretty good.”

It seems likely that given the way the aging Ducks have struggled this season that there will be major changes made during the offseason. Where an injured Kesler fits into those plans remains to be seen.

Source: