Hockey Terminal
Be a GM

← All players

Photo of Ryan Kesler

Ryan Kesler

#17 · Centre · Anaheim Ducks

Born Aug 31, 1984 in Livonia, Michigan, USA · 6'2", 206 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 23rd overall in 2003 by VAN (round 1)

Trophy case

Frank J. Selke Trophy Top Defensive Forward 2010-11

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jannik Hansen SJS · 14 P in 46 GP Radim Vrbata FLA · 14 P in 42 GP Barclay Goodrow SJS · 14 P in 47 GP Nikolay Goldobin VAN · 14 P in 38 GP Jack Roslovic WPG · 14 P in 31 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602003-04: 5 points503-042005-06: 23 points232006-07: 16 points1606-072007-08: 37 points372008-09: 59 points5908-092009-10: 75 points752010-11: 73 points7310-112011-12: 49 points492012-13: 13 points1312-132013-14: 43 points432014-15: 47 points4714-152015-16: 53 points532016-17: 58 points5816-172017-18: 14 points142018-19: 8 points818-19

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2003-04 VAN 28 2 3 5 -2 16 23 25 0.18
2005-06 VAN 82 10 13 23 1 79 119 136 0.28
2006-07 VAN 48 6 10 16 1 40 88 57 0.33 $1.9M
2007-08 VAN 80 21 16 37 1 79 177 78 0.46 $1.75M
2008-09 VAN 82 26 33 59 8 61 179 72 0.72 $1.75M
2009-10 VAN 82 25 50 75 1 104 214 95 0.91 $1.75M
2010-11 VAN 82 41 32 73 24 66 260 124 0.89 $5M
2011-12 VAN 77 22 27 49 11 56 222 108 0.64 $5M
2012-13 VAN 17 4 9 13 -5 12 36 30 0.76 $5M
2013-14 VAN 77 25 18 43 -15 81 239 133 0.56 $5M
2014-15 ANA 81 20 27 47 -5 75 205 169 0.58 $5M
2015-16 ANA 79 21 32 53 5 78 164 168 0.67 $5M
2016-17 ANA 82 22 36 58 8 83 186 146 0.71 $6.875M
2017-18 ANA 44 8 6 14 -4 46 78 71 0.32 $6.875M
2018-19 ANA 60 5 3 8 -19 44 86 93 0.13 $6.875M
15 seasons Career 1001 258 315 573 10 920 2276 1505 0.57

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2006-07 VAN 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0.00
2008-09 VAN 10 2 2 4 -2 14 28 24 0.40
2009-10 VAN 12 1 9 10 3 4 21 14 0.83
2010-11 VAN 25 7 12 19 0 47 76 78 0.76
2011-12 VAN 5 0 3 3 -1 6 16 10 0.60
2012-13 VAN 4 2 0 2 -2 0 13 16 0.50
2014-15 ANA 16 7 6 13 2 24 33 55 0.81
2015-16 ANA 7 4 0 4 2 0 15 15 0.57
2016-17 ANA 17 1 7 8 -6 32 45 31 0.47
2017-18 ANA 4 0 2 2 0 6 6 8 0.50
10 seasons Playoffs 101 24 41 65 -4 133 255 256 0.64

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
44 8 6 14 -4 46 78 71 0.32 10.3 18:02

Contract

$6.875MCap hit2017-18
$491KCap dollars per point14 points in 44 games
$327KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$6.5MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2018-19 to 2021-22 $6.875M
2016-17 to 2017-18 $6.875M
2013-14 to 2015-16 $5M
2010-11 to 2015-16 $5M
2007-08 to 2009-10 $1.75M
2006-07 to 2006-07 $1.9M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2017-18 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2017-18 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.4Goals above replacement557th of 691 skaters, 378th of 451 forwards
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 451 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-1.4 31st percentileEven-strength defence-0.3 37th percentilePower play-0.2 28th percentilePenalty kill-0.2 16th percentilePenalties-0.5 22nd percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-10-5051015202010-112012-132014-152016-172018-19Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

48.2Corsi for %556 attempts for, 598 against
-3.0CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.5Expected goals for %25.1 expected for, 23.6 against
-0.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
43.9Goals for %18 for, 23 against
98.5PDO6.1% shooting + 92.4% saves
104Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Ryan Kesler · Andrew Cogliano · Jakob Silfverberg41386:2450.450.915-13
Ryan Kesler · Andrew Cogliano · JT Brown743:5058.257.82-2
Ryan Kesler · Jakob Silfverberg · JT Brown517:5451.553.50-1
Ryan Getzlaf · Ryan Kesler · Jakob Silfverberg1312:0723.136.70-0

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

8Goalsnot counting empty-netters
10.8Expected goalsfrom 114 unblocked attempts
-2.8Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.82 expected goals per 60 minutes67th
Shot quality 9.5% chance per attempt95th
Finishing -2.8 goals above expected23rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 423 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Expected 10.8Goals 8

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2018 @ ARI W 3-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 18:32
Apr 6, 2018 vs DAL W 5-3 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 18:05
Apr 4, 2018 vs MIN W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 14:30
Apr 1, 2018 vs COL W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 2 4 3 4 20:11
Mar 30, 2018 vs LAK W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 18:01
Mar 27, 2018 @ VAN L 1-4 0 1 1 -1 0 2 2 15:07
Mar 25, 2018 @ EDM W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 5 0 19:43
Mar 23, 2018 @ WPG L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 19:26
Mar 21, 2018 @ CGY W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:58
Mar 18, 2018 vs NJD W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 19:39
Mar 16, 2018 vs DET W 4-2 1 0 1 1 9 4 1 16:54
Mar 14, 2018 vs VAN W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 18:24
Mar 12, 2018 vs STL L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 15:19
Mar 9, 2018 @ DAL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18:01
Mar 8, 2018 @ NSH L 2-4 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 16:33
Mar 6, 2018 vs WSH W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 18:00
Mar 4, 2018 vs CHI W 6-3 0 1 1 0 5 2 2 15:35
Mar 2, 2018 vs CBJ W 4-2 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 19:05
Feb 25, 2018 vs EDM L 5-6 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 22:13
Feb 24, 2018 @ ARI L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 2 3 0 17:09
Feb 21, 2018 vs DAL W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 18:52
Feb 19, 2018 @ VGK W 2-0 0 0 0 1 2 4 1 17:57
Feb 15, 2018 @ CHI W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 20:28
Feb 13, 2018 @ DET L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 18:21
Feb 11, 2018 vs SJS L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 6 22:03
Feb 9, 2018 vs EDM W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 4 4 15:50
Feb 6, 2018 @ BUF W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 2 3 20:38
Feb 5, 2018 @ TOR L 4-7 0 0 0 -3 0 2 2 18:53
Feb 3, 2018 @ MTL L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 20:26
Feb 1, 2018 @ OTT L 1-2 (OT) 1 0 1 1 4 3 3 17:08
Jan 30, 2018 @ BOS W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 19:40
Jan 25, 2018 vs WPG W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 1 0 3 3 22:05
Jan 23, 2018 vs NYR W 6-3 0 0 0 2 0 3 6 18:34
Jan 21, 2018 vs SJS L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 17:01
Jan 19, 2018 vs LAK W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 1 19:09
Jan 17, 2018 vs PIT W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18:38
Jan 15, 2018 @ COL L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 15:35
Jan 13, 2018 @ LAK W 4-2 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 14:32
Jan 6, 2018 @ CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 08:40
Jan 4, 2018 @ EDM L 1-2 (SO) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 21:35
Jan 2, 2018 @ VAN W 5-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 19:14
Dec 31, 2017 vs ARI W 5-2 0 2 2 2 0 2 1 17:32
Dec 29, 2017 vs CGY W 2-1 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 14:49
Dec 27, 2017 vs VGK L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 3 2 16:27