Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler played through the playoffs with a torn labrum in his shoulder.Jeff Vinnick
/ Getty Images

Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin celebrate a goal in happier times. Kesler's effect is such that the Canucks' game declined when he tried to play through injuries the last two playoff series.Mark Van Manen, PNG
/ Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Canucks Ryan Kesler seem to be all smiles while playing earlier in the NHL season.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

Ryan Kesler #17 of the Vancouver Canucks listens to the national anthem during their NHL game against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena March 31, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 3-2.Jeff Vinnick
/ NHLI via Getty Images

Ryan Kesler, one-third of a potential agitators line supreme with Alex Burrows and Max Lapierre, at Vancouver Canucks practice on Friday, April 20, 2012 at UBC.Jason Payne
/ PNG

Centre Ryan Kesler (17) of the Vancouver Canucks sports a fat lip as he stands in front of goalie Evgeni Nabokov (20) of the New York Islanders in the first period of their game in NHL hockey at Rogers Arena on Nov. 13.Stuart Davis
/ PNG

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VANCOUVER — Next season will begin like last season for Ryan Kesler, who will once again be on the sidelines recovering from surgery when the Vancouver Canucks start their 2012-13 NHL campaign.

Last season, it was his hip. This time, it's his left shoulder, which was operated on Tuesday to repair a torn labrum.

And the Canucks confirmed Tuesday that Kesler had played through the injury through the last third of the season.

"Ryan experienced shoulder pain throughout the year and it got to a point where he needed to get it checked out," assistant general manager Laurence Gilman said in a phone interview. "He saw two specialists (in February) and the diagnosis at that time was that his labrum was torn and the decision had to be rendered with respect to playing through it to the end of the season or getting his shoulder repaired.

"Ryan wanted to keep playing and once we were satisfied that his health wasn't going to be placed in jeopardy, we agreed to let him continue to play."

Kesler only missed the first five games of this past year's regular season after off-season hip surgery. He figures to sit out a longer stretch next season.

The Canucks pegged his recovery time at six months, meaning it is unlikely Kesler will be available until mid-November at the earliest.

"Six months is average, it can be five months, it depends on how the person heals and what the rehab is like," Gilman said.

Kesler, by his standards, had a tough season. He had 22 goals and 49 points, which was down dramatically from the 41 goals and 73 points he recorded the previous season when he won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. His point total last season was his lowest since he recorded 37 points in 2007-08.

Gilman suggested there is little doubt that Kesler's shoulder injury affected his play.

"His productivity was down, so you would assume he wasn't playing to the level that he normally would have," Gilman said.

Kesler's surgery was performed in Ohio by Dr. Anthony Miniaci at the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Sports Health. Miniaci, a Toronto native, is a renowned orthopedic surgeon whose specialties include shoulder reconstruction, knee reconstruction and cartilage resurfacing.

The labrum is a cuff of cartilage that circles a person's shallow shoulder socket and helps make the shoulder joint more stable.

Gilman said the team expects a full recovery for Kesler.

"The nature of this injury and the type of surgery is such that players will usually have 100 per cent recovery and we expect that will be the case with Ryan," he said.

Kesler's absence early next season should create an opportunity at training camp for a player like Jordan Schroeder, who was Vancouver's first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2009 draft.

Schroeder, 21, had 21 goals and 44 points in 76 games this past season with the AHL's Chicago Wolves in what was his second full season of pro hockey.

"Assuming that Ryan isn not healthy at the start of our training camp there will clearly be opportunities that any number of players can grasp with respect to getting a spot on our roster," Gilman said. "Jordan is a good example. He is a centre who, if he is going to play in the National Hockey League, probably has to play as a first- or second-line centre."

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