Kesler is not expected to return to the NHL after multiple hip surgeries, Adam Kimelman of NHL.com reports.
Kesler hasn't appeared in an NHL contest since the 2018-19 campaign, when he scored just eight points with a minus-19 rating in 60 games. He's on the final year of his six-year, $41.25 million contract and is expected to officially retire after that. The 37-year-old center racked up 573 points, 920 PIM and 1,285 hits through 1,001 games with Anaheim and Vancouver. Kesler was the league's Selke Trophy winner and helped lead the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010-11.