Kesler Undergoes Hip Surgery

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday afternoon that forward Ryan Kesler had undergone successful hip labral surgery, which is expected to keep the Selke Trophy winner out for 10-to-12 weeks.

Worst case scenario, the 12 weeks, would put Kesler back in action around October 25th, which would mean he would miss the first three weeks of the season, give or take a few days.  Kesler had reportedly had this surgery once before and he was on the better side of the projected return dates, so we might be able to take that into consideration, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Kesler finished 30th in pool scoring in 2011 with 73 points in 82 games, which will now take a small discount in projections for the 2012 season.  If Kesler returns on the 25th against the Oilers, he will have only have missed eight games, which should be your adjustment going into the pool, possibly discounting by 6-to-12 points overall, counting in some rust shaking games.