Canes/NHL speculation and factual information.

By the way, we're going to talk a little bit about ESPN in a little while.

It's been a rough couple of weeks up at the Worldwide later, but Greg is joining us. And can we start with, did Captain Tesla really need to limit us on July 1st to refresh? Like, nothing refreshed for forever. Yeah, I mean, depending on what you read and who you believe, I mean, it's a situation where he wasn't looking to pay a bill or, you know, this is actually a gambit to try to get more people to subscribe for their checkmark or whatever.

But whatever it is, I mean, like, it's been it's been a rough couple days. I mean, as far as like the media goes, as far as what the future looks like, I've been a Twitter user since 2009. And it really has transformed the way that we get information and give out information and do our jobs.

And like all jokes aside about the mess that Elon's made of it, I mean, it really is going to impact how a lot of us get our news, both from a functionality standpoint and a reliability standpoint. And I think we got a glimpse of that on on Saturday for free agency. No question about it.

All right. Speaking of free agency, why are you refusing to tweet out that the hurricanes have signed Vladimir Tarasenko? They haven't?

No, they haven't done it yet. I just the latest I heard is that, you know, he's still checking options, obviously, with the news getting out a little bit early on him and the hurricanes. I'm sure there was probably some rechecking in from teams that were interested in acquiring his services. You know, if you look around the landscape right now, he's positioned to be one of the best finishers available left on the open market.

There's there's obviously a premium on that in this league right now. And, you know, I think from a from a Tarasenko standpoint, provided it's a it's a one year deal, I don't know if there's a better landing place for him than Raleigh. I mean, just based on how good the team is going to be, based on the need, the needs that they have in that lineup and the potential for him to really fill those needs in a way that, you know, few players that are available can. I think it'd be a great landing spot for him. And conversely, would be a great player acquisition for the hurricane. Really?

It really would. Greg Wyshinsky from ESPN is joining us here at Wyshinsky on Twitter until he flips to Blue Sky, which maybe we'll all say, hey, I'm there already, but I'm going to have to do it. Well, the thing is, is that, like, I don't know, there's been a thousand different services that have popped up during this the dark times. Like, you know, we're all going to Mastodon. We're all going here.

We're all going there. This one seems to have the most traction. But, you know, I'm dabbling with with posting the news that I put on Twitter on Blue Sky and it's gotten some traction.

There certainly aren't enough people there yet. Right. It's of the alternatives. It's the one that seems the most functionally like Twitter. And therefore it gives you at least a little bit of hope that it might catch on.

I'll check it out and maybe I'll join you there. Are you are you still Wyshinsky on Blue Sky? All right. Good.

Remarkably still available. Let me real quick about free agency. And I was sort of joking about the Tarasenko thing, because I know this. I know it's not a done deal. I know that there's been an offer.

They have interest. And I think it would be a one year deal. But I also don't recognize the franchise that I cover now, Greg. They have not signed in the Tom Dundon era. They have signed zero free agents of note. Jesper Faust, I think, is the only real free agent that they brought in, especially on. And what that wasn't a day one thing. I think that was like a day two signing. There's just been no top line players that they have signed. And then within two hours of noon, it seemed like Dimitri Orloff and Michael Bunting both showed up. And I mean, frankly, I kind of like both signings. Did it surprise you?

Because it surprised the heck out of me. It didn't surprise me that they dabbled again in or dabbled in unrestricted free agency. I saw Dundon at the draft. I was joking with him on whether it was going to be a busy summer, whether it was going to make a big splash. And he kind of indicated, as Tom Dundon does, the amount of cap space that they have in the very Tom Dundon way.

So I knew that they were up to something. I, you know, Orloff was probably the last name I would have associated with the hurricane just because of where the strength of their team was and just because of the glut of defense that they have. But when you look at it, it makes total sense if you're going to be able to get him in on that contract to add a player of his abilities to that group. I mean, obviously we know under, under Brenda Moore, a lot of offense comes from the backend. He's certainly a guy that can play both in both ends really well and add that element of physicality. So it's a really, it's a really good signing there. The bunting thing made a lot more sense in the sense of like, you know, it's either he's shown he can play with top line players. He has that sort of tenacity and puck retrieval that you can also see fit right into what the hurricanes do best. You know, my only concern for him is, is, you know, what those numbers ultimately translate into without having the benefit of playing with Austin Matthews or, or Mitch Marner or, or Willy Nylander for a prolonged period of time, as long as the expectations are maybe reset from the statistical highs that he had with the maple leaves. I think he could be a pretty effective player.

Oh, I think so too. And my guess is that he's going to go right next to Sebastian Ajo and whoever's playing on the right side. I know they ended the season with Seth Jarvis, but depending on training camp, it wouldn't, I wouldn't be completely surprised if that was Tevo Taravanen over there at some point. I think bunting will be a great fit with those two guys, whichever two, but I'd be surprised if it was, if it wasn't Sebastian Ajo playing in the middle on a line with Michael bunting. So he's going to play with top players as well.

I can't remember the last time that, and we'll get to Orloff in a second. I can't remember the last time, assuming let's just play the crazy game that they do agree with Tarasenko on a one year deal, that the hurricanes forward group could be among the best in the entire league, as long as they don't have to give up another forward in some sort of a trade. I assume that Brett Pesci will get traded, which makes me sad in a lot of levels, but their forward group could be amazing.

It could. And you know, I think in the past there's been arguments we made particularly during the Justin Williams years that maybe they had one of the deepest groups in, in the, in the NHL in so far as like the ability to roll out for quality lines. But it was never a conversation you're right in saying, you know, that the talent level was necessarily at that, at that apex. And, and, you know, I think from a depth perspective, there's certainly, you know, the top of the league, but then you start taking off some of these names or these incredibly talented players, including, you know, let's not forget, such to call it going back. You know, there's, there's a, I mean, there's an incredible assemblage of talent they're building now, especially if they add Tarasenko to the mix.

Greg Wyshinsky is joining us here. What do you think Brett Pesci's, if I realize he's not a free agent yet, he's got one more year left in his contract, but going into the final year, everybody's always gauging their own market value. What do you think Pesci's value is if, if he was on the open market today? Oh, I think he's got tremendous value. And I think that there's a robust number of teams that are, are going to be looking to acquire him, you know, when, when things get aggressive and when they do try to move them. And I don't think there's any question right now that that's going to happen given what we've seen happen with their backend and given the value that he has and, and given what his next contract is going to look like. And given the fact that he's changed agents to secure that contract all that adds up to him probably being moved. But you know, you think of teams like Nashville teams, like Washington was another team that I heard at the draft kind of being bandied about, there's a few, there's a few teams that that certainly could use them and and are going to be able to add a pretty, pretty good amount of bounty for him, probably, you know, picks player, that kind of thing. But it also really depends on what the free the the front office of the other games is looking for. If they're looking for to transform him into futures that they can use down the road for other acquisitions or to build out the prospect pool, or if they're looking for, you know, another impact player up front, let's say that they could maybe get for him as well.

Yeah, my no idea. I don't see I don't see the benefit of trading him unless you my my gauges do you get closer to winning a Stanley Cup. And the sad part for me is that I don't see a trade out there that really gets them closer to trading Pesci that gets them closer to winning a Stanley Cup. But I think it's going to be futures is my honest, my honest guess, because that's the easiest trade for them to make.

But I have no idea. But he, with all the core players that the hurricanes have, Pesci was the first one other than stall had been here for a lot longer, but when they finally started to turn it around, Pesci was the guy. He was the first of their he got here before slavery got here before Oh, before the terror vine and trade before all of this. And it will be sad and a lot of levels, not to mention, there was a time I thought he might have been a future captain. He is a super dude, he's going to make somebody really happy. But the hurricanes were never going to give him eight years. No, and I think they're also a team that, you know, knows inherently well that, that you should probably get what you can for a player before he leaves for nothing. I've been thinking back to the Dougie situation, for example, like if they if they know that they're not going to be extending him, it'll probably, you know, it could potentially hurt them in the short term to have a guy like that back there.

But but ultimately, it helps them in the long term to at least get something for him. All right. Since you're from the United States and you don't have a cottage, so what do you do in the summer? At work.

It's always been the point of demarcation between me and the Canadians. I'm actually still working in the summer while they're not. No, I mean, listen, I'll be I'll be writing stuff for the next few weeks and doing some interviews. And I have some non hockey stuff that I'm working on to free SPN. And, you know, the only huge change is probably like the number of things I have to write on a daily basis. Obviously, not really prepping for too much TV work as the attention certainly is not on hockey in the summer.

But, you know, also trying to take it easy. My ritual for the off season is to buy like five or six books from a bookstore called The Strand in New York, in New York City, that it's like my favorite place, like three or four floors of new and used books. And and then I sit and I read I read non hockey books basically for the entire summer. So I've got a book on the history of digital journalism. I've got Heat Two by Michael Mann, the written sequel to the movie Heat.

Very nice. Yeah. And I got a few others, you know. So I am reading one baseball book, but I try to not read too many sportsbooks in the summer. I try to like have my brain kind of thinking about other things. And then the other thing too, obviously, is, you know, we've we're about like a sixth of the way into the new Zelda game.

So that'll be a lot of the summer playing that game. Good for you, Greg. I appreciate your time, man.

I'll talk to you soon. Yep. Anytime. You got it at Washington on Twitter and Blue Sky. Also, he's just a good dude.