Ryan Kesler may miss the 2018-19 with a hip injury. Greg Johnson answers some of the questions surrounding Kesler’s contract and the Anaheim Ducks salary cap situation.
Last Friday’s Sportsnet column by Elliotte Friedman mentioned Anaheim Ducks shutdown center Ryan Kesler may miss the entire 2018-19 season while rehabilitating his hip injury. Ducks fans are wondering how that will affect the team.
I Thought Kesler Returned from His Injury
Ryan Kesler did return from his off-season hip surgery to play 48 physically demanding games for the Anaheim Ducks last season. The pain was grueling for Kesler, and his play was grueling for fans. Opposing fans don’t have much sympathy for our local nasty center. It was clear to those watching, Kesler could hardly swivel at the waist while on the ice last season. His results showed it.
It looks like Kesler is in real trouble now. He’s not interested in further surgery. According to Friedman’s 31 Thoughts column, “…word is he (Kesler) is not interested in retiring, wants to play and is doing everything he can to get there.”
Is retirement in question? This injury is clearly worse than any of us expected. Let’s go with the assumption Kesler is going to sit out the season and try to return in September of 2019.