He doesn't need to make a statement to the media in order to continue getting paid the money he's owed in his contract. I very highly doubt the Ducks would ever call him out on not rehabbing and attempt any sort of legal battle to void his contract. Quite frankly, the team benefits a lot from him being on LTIR, there's absolutely no reason to try and bully him into training to comeback.
I read this and all it says to me is that ultra competitive Kesler will never let go until he 100% cannot go on.
He doesn't need to make a statement to the media. But the one thing he shouldn't do, as explained below, is say he's making no attempt to recover from his injury.
And just to be clear, I never said the ducks would or should call him out, try to void his contract, or try to encourage him to come back.
His contract is insured anyway, 80% I believe. The organization wouldn't take his money away.
I assume you're at least a little familiar with insurance contracts and companies? In your experience, or based on what you know, do insurance companies just pay millions of dollars without reviewing the policy provisions and/or law? Are there often times requirements in insurance policies that must be met for the insured to make a claim? Do insurance companies often look for ways/excuses not to pay?
The law (and very likely the insurance contract) requires the insured to mitigate damages. I suspect - but don't know, so I'm making an educated guess - that Kesler's insurance contract has requirements - otherwise injured players might just sit back and collect when they could recover - perhaps with their team's encouragement (Robidas Island). There is potentially a legal distinction between being disabled and injured. One thing I know is there are LOTS of technicalities and the insurance company won't ignore them.
I also know that it is unwise for an insured worker to say - "I'm not trying to recover from my injury." Which is why Kesler - if he's smart and I'm sure he's been told - will never say something like that.
And while the ducks should be happy to pay Kesler, if the insurance coverage disappears, that analysis changes and a buyout becomes a real possiblity. Which, again, is why Kesler will be careful about what he says.
