Ryan Kesler is open to signing an extension with the Ducks

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler enjoys playing in SoCal - on a good young team - so much that he'd like to stay once his contract expires.

"The way the team is made up, how young and how good a contender this team is, yeah, I love it here," Kesler said to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun of the possibility of signing an extension with the Ducks. "That would be the perfect situation, yes."

Kesler currently has two years remaining on a six-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2010. He'll be eligible to sign a contract extension this upcoming summer, and he sure sounds like he'd be eager to remain with Anaheim for the foreseeable future.

"It's one of the best rooms I've ever been in," Kesler said of his first month and change with his new club. "Right from day one, you notice it. Not that I've been in bad rooms, but this is the first time I've been the new guy in the room, just the way they brought me in and made me at home right away. Made me feel part of the team and welcomed. I couldn't ask for anything more."

The 30-year-old American Olympian, a former Selke winner, has scored three goals and contributed 11 points in 16 games for the Ducks so far this season. Perhaps more importantly, he leads all Ducks centermen in relative shot attempt differential while regularly matching up against the opposition's best forward lines.

It's that two-way prowess that makes Kesler so valuable to the Ducks, and it's why Ducks brass isn't sweating over the loss of Nick Bonino - who was traded to Vancouver in exchange for Kesler - and so far this season has been the more productive of the two.

"He wins faceoffs, he's very conscientious at both ends of the ice," explained Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau. "That’s exactly what we wanted. I just don't like the fact I've had to mix his line up so many times (because of injuries)."