Article content continued

And nobody was more polarizing than Kesler.

His 393 points (182-211) in 655 regular-season games are tied for 11th in franchise history. There were three Selke Trophy nominations, two All-Star Game appearances and team awards as MVP (2009) and most-exciting player (2011). But all that was often overshadowed by the noise.

At his best, Kesler was a 41-goal scorer, a Selke winner and a dominant force, who factored in 11 of 14 goals in a 2011 playoff series domination of the Nashville Predators. He played through every imaginable pain and injury and his hips are such a mess that his career has likely come to a close at age 35.

At his worst, Kesler was a moody and brooding centre of too much attention. The scrutiny got to him and his family and his June 27, 2014 trade to Anaheim was more complicated than the narrative of somebody simply jumping ship to chase the Stanley Cup.

“I don’t want to be remembered as a guy who asked for a trade — that’s for sure,” said Kesler. “The last two years were really hard on me physically and mentally to a point where I hated the game. And now, I’m to the point where I love it in a different way.”

In a revealing interview from his Michigan home, an emotional Kesler came clean on his Canuck career, his desire to reconnect with the city and how he wants to be remembered:

Q: You have a podcast with Kevin Bieksa, we hear you on airwaves and you’re back in the local consciousness. Is this by design?

A: The podcast is telling my side of the story and how everything went down. I do go to Van at least once a month. My trainers are still there, my son (Ryker) was born there and it’s still a second home for me and my family. I was framed as the bad guy. I obviously asked to be traded, but they (fans) didn’t know the details and the why. It (podcast) is being able to explain getting booed and being hurt from that and things in the media that definitely weren’t true.