Ryan Kesler to Anaheim Ducks

Ben Nelms/Reuters

Ryan Kesler trade talks are heating up as the 2014 NHL trade deadline approaches. The Vancouver Canucks have been contending for the Stanley Cup for many years. In 2011, they made it to the finals before losing out to the Boston Bruins. Goalie Roberto Luongo is 34, Henrik and Daniel Sedin are 33 years old. Similar to the Detroit Red Wings, the Canucks core is old and the window to win the Stanley Cup is fading fast.

GM Mike Gillis is looking at retooling and bringing in top young prospects. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Canucks are willing to trade any player other than the Sedin twins. Ryan Kesler, who is 29 years old, is signed for two more season to an annual cap hit contract of $5 million. He is getting the most interest from teams because he is a Selke winning centre, who is good at playing defence and offence. Trade speculation also surrounds defencemen, Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieksa.

The St Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks are interested in acquiring Ryan Kesler. The Ducks are the most likely team to get Kesler because they are rich with young prospects and have over $9 million in cap space. The Anaheim Ducks are offering one or more of Mathieu Perrault, Emerson Etem, Jakob Silfverberg, Kyle Palmieri, Rickard Rakell, and Devante Smith-Pelly in return for Ryan Kesler.