He’s the reason
why I was a borderline Canucks fan for the past few years. Now I am free to
disdain them with impunity. Ryan Kesler, now with Anaheim, did not deserve the raspberries
he got from the crowd on his return to Vancouver Thursday night.
The man is a
horse. He logs big ice time and never slacks off. So he wanted to get out of
town after the disastrous 13/14 season. Who doesn’t think of changing jobs
after a decade at the same place? Maybe he didn’t like the then-coach who the
then-GM hired after firing Alain Vigneault. Neither did anyone else. Maybe he
got on some of his teammate’s nerves. Alpha males will do that. Or maybe he got
discouraged after the Game 7 loss in 2011/12, when fans in jerseys bearing his
name and number were setting fire to police cars. Vancouver is a hard city in
which to play any sport, but hockey is particularly dicey. Philadelphia fans
are ugly, but they’ve never rioted in the streets after losing a Stanley Cup
final. Vancouver fans have done it twice. They’re brutal, especially to ex-pats who depart under unfortunate
circumstances.
I don’t know why
Kesler wanted to leave the team, but I certainly don’t fault him for it. He was
a force in the most recent glory days, playing injured in the playoffs and threatening
to eclipse Henrik Sedin for conduct becoming a team captain. He scored goals.
He helped others score goals. He took lumps for the team and gave as good as he
got in a scrap. He was a star for them … and the fans boo when he stands on the
opposite side of the red line. There’s gratitude for you.
I wish him well
in Anaheim. No regrets here, boy. Well, maybe I have one.
He’d have been a
dandy Flyer.
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