Ducks eager to unleash Kesler
Former Canucks centre figures to see plenty of Toews in West final against Hawks
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — It was almost as if Ducks general manager Bob Murray could smell the assignment months before it was to arrive on his southern California doorstep.
Looking to add some spine up the middle of his lineup last summer, Murray focused his off-season business on acquiring free-agent centre and former Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler.
In the pursuit, the Ducks brass no doubt remembered some of the big battles the veteran had with Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews in playoffs past.
Weary of seeing regular seasons superiority give way to post-season busts, Murray wanted in on the action and didn’t stop until Kesler was shipped down the Pacific coast.
There is much to anticipate about the Western Conference final, which gets underway Sunday at noon PST. But the potential of a multi-game dual between Kesler and Toews — two of the more hard-nosed, twoway talents in the game — is high on the must-watch list.
“If I play against him in the series, I’m sure, you know, we won’t hug each other on the ice, let’s just say that,” Kesler said. “Toews is a good player. When you play against the same guy for six, seven games in a row, obviously there’s going to be a rivalry there.”
It already is, as those who saw the clashes the two had when Vancouver and Chicago squared off in three consecutive post-seasons from 2009-11 will recall.
They duelled in the faceoff circle, in the corners and anywhere on the ice where a battle was to be found.
The fourth postseason meeting may be the juiciest yet, however, given the dynamic that Kesler has brought to the Ducks, a big factor in SoCal’s “other” NHL team making it to the conference final for the first time since 2007.
Kesler was solid in the regular season, scoring 20 goals and adding 27 assists, but the 30-year-old American’s value soars at this time of year.
“He’s definitely a player that you respect and that you challenges yourself against,” Toews said on Saturday.
“I think he’s meant a lot to his team offensively, but I think most of all, he plays a smart, gritty game defensively.”
The matchups will be an intriguing part of this series, with a pair of one time Toronto Maple Leaf steam mates behind the bench in Chicago’s Joel Quenneville and Anaheim’s Bruce Boudreau.
Both relish juggling lines and with home ice for the first two games, Boudreau will get the first crack.
The assignment for Kesler may be to go head-to-head with Toews, but the Ducks coach could also could opt to line him up against Patrick Kane, who has been on fire offensively these playoffs.
Kesler’s success in the faceoff circle — he leads the playoffs with a 63 per cent success rate — has also taken the heat off of new teammate Ryan Getzlaf. Boudreau won’t think twice about putting Kesler out for a crucial defensive zone draw.
“He performs at the highest level when the game’s on the line,” Ducks defenceman Cam Fowler said of Kesler earlier in the week.
“He’s proven that all year, that’s why we went out and got him.”