There were 43 players dealt on NHL trade deadline day earlier this week and Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler says he knows about all the anxieties those men are feeling.
Last June, Kesler and a third-round pick were traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Ducks for Nick Bonino, Luca Sbisa, first- and third-round picks.
“I wanted a trade out of Vancouver [last] off-season for several reasons. That’s no disrespect to the fans, my teammates, or Canucks ownership, but I think both sides needed a change,” Kesler explained in an op-ed piece he wrote for the Players’ Tribune Friday called The 30-Year-Old Rookie. “I’ve got three kids at home. I just wanted a more normal life for them away from the rink. Playing in Canada can be a fishbowl not just for players but for families, too. That said, this was really hard.
“I know you read that all the time, but Vancouver was my home since I was 19. I grew up with Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows, and the Sedins. These guys will always be my close friends. One day you wake up and you realize, Wow, I’m really leaving my buddies. It’s weird because I spent all summer preparing for a move, but when I actually got the call from my agent that I was headed to Anaheim, a little bit of anxiety rushed in.”
The Players’ Tribune on Twitter
Kesler is a polarizing figure in the NHL. If he’s on your team you love him, but if you have to play against him you hate the guy. Off the ice, however, things aren’t as simple.
“My first thought [after being traded] was: Sunshine. ‘Shorts and flip-flops. Nice.’ My second thought was: ‘Getzlaf and Perry. Interesting,’” Kesler said. “Then came a rush of really complicated thoughts: ‘How am I going to tell my six-year-old daughter that she has to say goodbye to her best friends? What happens with my Canadian bank account? How do those taxes work? Where do I live? How do you even move furniture and stuff?’
“I had spent my entire career in Vancouver. I probably called my agent 20 times that week with some variation of, ‘Uh, Kurt, this is really embarrassing, but how do I do [this thing]?’
“This is the part in every article where a bunch of people write comments like, ‘Hey, you guys are millionaires! Just shut up!’ … But hockey players have feelings, too. Or at least our families do.”
“I remember the moment when it hit me hardest – I had to break the news to my four-year-old son that we were moving to the U.S. He was born in Canada. It’s all he knows. He loves to sing the national anthem before my games. When I realized that he only knew the words to O Canada, I got a little choked up.”
Kesler is in the midst of his best season since his Selke Trophy-winning campaign in 2010-11. The Olympic silver medallist says it took him a while to adjust to his new team – especially considering his longtime rivalry with Corey Perry.
“I’ll never forget the feeling of that first day at training camp, though. There I am, a 30-year-old man, and it felt like the first day of school,” Kesler added. “Everybody knows that I’m a talker. I love to chirp. I love to keep things loose. But that first week, I sat there, getting dressed, not saying a peep…Pro-tip for the guys who just got moved at the deadline: Don’t come into the locker room guns blazing. Don’t try to make any jokes the first week. Feel the room out first. Be respectful.”
Judging by the fact the Ducks are the top team in the NHL through 66 games, things are going as well as Kesler could have imagined.
“We’re a big, heavy team who loves to grind, which is perfect for my style. It’s a lot easier to line up on the same side as Getzy and Perry. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t strange how it’s all worked out.”
