ANAHEIM — Ryan Kesler’s season is over, but he and the Ducks would like to find out sooner rather than later whether his career can continue beyond 2018-19, so they’re in the process of determining what the next course of action is for him and his wonky hip.
The first step was to get him to halt the exhaustive process he underwent simply to play in 60 games this season. He’s continued to work out in the gym, but he’s been off the ice and hasn’t gone through the stretching and rehabilitation exercises he has performed.
“His body was beat up and we had to get to the bottom of everything and we’re getting there now,” said Bob Murray, the Ducks’ general manager and interim coach. “We’ve got a couple of hip specialists the doctors are working on for him to go and see.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of everything with ‘Kes.’ We talked (Tuesday) morning and we’re going to wait until he’s seen every doctor and everything’s checked and then we’ll sit down and have a discussion with he and I and his agent.”
Kesler’s competitive spirit, along with with his workout regime, enabled him to reach his goal of playing in his 1,000th NHL game. But he hasn’t played or practiced with the Ducks since his 1,001st game, a loss to the St. Louis Blues on March 6.
Major hip surgery during the offseason of 2017 limited Kesler to only eight goals and 14 points in 44 games in 2017-18. He scored only five goals and 13 points in 60 games this season, his fifth with the Ducks after leaving the Vancouver Canucks via a trade in 2014.
Kesler’s addition propelled the Ducks to Western Conference finals appearances in 2015 and ’17. He signed a six-season, $41.25-million contract extension with the Ducks on July 15, 2015, and he’s determined to complete the deal, which runs through 2021-22.
“It’s never going to change,” Murray said of Kesler’s competitive nature. “It’s never going to change with Ryan Kesler. The big thing now with Ryan Kesler is what’s best for his life going forward. I keep saying that. ‘Kes’ and I are talking about that right now, which is a step in the right direction.”
The concern is the toll Kesler’s off-ice regime did to his body.
“He did so many things just to play the game,” Murray said. “We just said, ‘Enough.’ We got him with our doctors and they said, ‘OK, ‘Kes,’ it’s time to shut everything off, get off everything (including medications) and let’s see what the body’s feeling.’ We’re not all there yet.”
GIBSON RECOVERS
Murray expressed concern for goaltender John Gibson, and not for the first time. Murray said he believed Gibson was overworked by midseason and shouldered a heavy burden as the Ducks slipped from contention while losing 19 of 21 games in one especially poor stretch in January and February.
Gibson became run down, lost weight and his play suffered.
“Let’s face it, we were pretty bad and he was carrying the load and he got overworked,” Murray said. “We’re going to have to be very cognizant of that. He lost a lot of weight. He was carrying the team and we can’t allow that to happen again.
“That’s why we haven’t run him out there in every game and played him every other game (recently). His weight still isn’t back to normal, for Pete’s sake. That’s how far he’d gotten run down. He will be in a good frame of mind going forward.”
MANSON UPDATE
Defenseman Josh Manson sat out the Ducks’ game Wednesday against the Calgary Flames and isn’t likely to play in Friday’s season finale against the Kings because of an upper-body injury. Said Murray: “I doubt you’ll see him again (this season).”
