With the departures of Markus Näslund, Brendan Morrison and Trevor Linden following the 2007–08 season, the Canucks were left without any captains for the 2008–09 NHL season. On September 30, 2008, Kesler was announced as a Canucks alternate captain with Willie Mitchell and Mattias Öhlund, while Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was named captain. While he at first continued to play on the third line in a largely defensive role with Burrows, head coach Alain Vigneault eventually split the duo in the midst of a poor January for the team. As a result, Kesler was placed on the second line with free agent acquisitions Pavol Demitra and Mats Sundin. Playing in a more offensive role, he set then-personal bests for the 2008–09 season, with 26 goals, 33 assists and 59 points. As a result, he was awarded the Cyclone Taylor Award as team MVP ahead of higher-profile teammates Luongo and Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Kesler gained additional recognition on a league-wide basis as a Frank J. Selke Trophy finalist along with Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished as second runner-up with one first-place vote.