«I tried coming back on my first hip and I was working hard rehabbing and skating, and then my other hip went and blocked all my momentum,» Kesler explained on Monday. «And to be honest, I'm still a far way away to even coming close. I don't think I'll ever get to an NHL level again. I'm just hoping to get to a level that I'm happy at."
«It got to a point, my last couple years playing, I hated the game, I hated playing,» he said. «Going to the rink, being in pain and then not being able to do what you normally do. Your mind wants you to do it and you just can't do it. That was when I knew, let's get something done, let's reset, let's try to get back to loving the game again. And I started loving the game again. I was trying to get back and skating and then my [left hip] went and I was like, ‘You know what? I'm not going through this again.' I still skate three days a week just trying to get back to a level that I'm happy at. But I'm 37 years old. As much as my mind's like, ‘Oh yeah, I can play again,' I'm not going to be that guy that's that naïve to think that I can compete in the League, let alone be myself in the League again.»
