The Wraparound Show: June 13, 2024

What's up, hockey fans? Jacob Stoller, digital correspondent of The Hockey News. Here for another episode of The Wrap Around and joining me from Toronto in his layover before going to Edmonton is Editor in Chief Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Ryan, you're coming back from South Florida where we saw AI mean a dominant first two games for one team, but the biggest story going to game three is the injury status of Alexander Barkov. What does this mean for the entire series as a whole? Obviously Florida has a 2, nothing lead, but going to Edmonton down their best player in the series arguably what? What kind of impact is it going to have on this Cup final? It's going to be very interesting because let's not forget Edmonton is coming home and that's the old adage. You know, it's not a series until the home team loses a game. So, you know, game three looms incredibly large for the Oilers in particular. Now, you know, Barkoff did skate on one of the off days. So it seemed like from the comments from coach Paul Maurice, they were cautiously optimistic. Now, will he be 100%? Hard to say. All this is going to sort of come out in the next 24 hours. I would say if he's not available, it's it's going to be next man up for the Panthers. And I'm I'm sure we'll see, you know, even more Sam Bennett than we did, probably more Anton Lindell. And it's going to be tough, you know, because Barkov is such a good shutdown player. He's done such a great job on McDavid in particular. And you know, the Panthers talk about a five man unit. That's how they defend. But he's the silky trophy winner. So if if he can't go, it's pretty tough. But I will say, if, you know, if I'm the Panthers, I would rather him miss game three and be ready for game four than him be OK for game three and worse for game four. What does this mean whether Barkov plays or not, though? What does this mean for Leon Drysidal, You know, the guy that delivered the hit? Is that going to be something that Florida really hones in on and they're taking runs at Leon or what? What do you anticipate in that regard? Well, it will be interesting to see, you know, if Barkov cannot play, is Ryan Lomberg the forward that comes in? And obviously he's not replacing Barkov, but he is a guy with nothing to lose. He's already a very physical player. The Panthers have to be careful because they're trying to win their first ever Stanley Cup. So they can't just continuously take runs at dry saddle because then they're just going to end up in the penalty box. I think my biggest fear is if Edmonton's up like 4-1 in the third period, like I said before, Panthers got nothing to lose. And you know, I could definitely see a scenario where, you know, somebody challenges Dry Saddle to a fight or they they take runs at him and you know it. We're not getting disciplined from the NHL, so Dry Saddle's not getting suspended. So he'll be in the lineup and the Panthers are going to be very aware every time he's out there. Paul Maurice strikes me as the kind of guy where as much as he is old school, I don't think at this point of a Stanley Cup series where he could be getting his first ring, he's going to pull a fast one or or try any of these, you know, extracurriculars just given with what's on the line before we move on. You mentioned the dry saddle hit. What are your thoughts on no supplemental discipline quickly? I mean, for me, it felt like you certainly could have given him a game. But I also understand that, you know, when they look at these things, obviously it's like 30 different angles. They, you know, the Department of Player Safety clearly wants to get the ruling right. And they are dealing with a superstar player. Well, two superstar players really in Bark Off and Drysidal. And I mean, I guess they don't have the luxury of waiting to see if Bark Off is going to play game three. That's just not how the system works. But to me, based on some of the one gamers we've seen recently, you know, sort of at the beginning of the playoffs, I I certainly could have seen them giving him a game, right? But then it's like, as you mentioned, you know, you're living, you have one of the biggest players in the world a game in the playoffs, even though he hit bark off. So that's kind of the the cats game we're in. OK, so the series moves to Edmonton. As we mentioned, the home crowd in Edmonton is going to be buzzing. Obviously the entire city's going to be electric. But do you think that the home ice chaos, for lack of a better word, could derail the Oilers rather than just propel them? Like it's going to be a madhouse in there? It will, I know. I think I think it's going to be a boost. Now, what's going to be very interesting is again, you know, let let's say bark off plays at the least Chris Knoblock can get McDavid away from him because he's got last change. So I think there will be probably a little more line matching it in Edmonton to try to take advantage of either a lack of bark Off or, you know, spark off. But you don't, you know, if he's just coming back from this injury, you don't want him jumping up, you know, on and off the ice every 40 seconds if they're, you know, pulling McDavid off that sort of thing. No, I, I think as long as the Oilers don't get into a big deficit right away, I, I think that the home crowd will, will be a a boon for them. I I guess the the only situation would be if you know, one of the players that has, you know, been dumped on by fans turns the puck over that leads to a goal, you know, then, you know, I mean really at this point it's half their defense core. I think that's in the dog house with the fan base. But otherwise, I think, you know, I mean city champions, right, You know, they they want another cop in Edmonton. I think they're going to be full throat support for sure. The the way I was kind of thinking of it, though, was, you know, you look at Florida, right? And they go in a game one and two home ice. And yeah, you can rag on the fact that the arena wasn't sold out and all these things. But if you're looking from the Panthers perspective, they lose the game. You know, they're going out after to eat or going around with their day and they can kind of decompress in Edmonton. Like those guys aren't leaving their house. It's a hockey mat city. The pressure is enormous. I was almost thinking down to nothing, right? All this pressure and being back at home at this point, like could it kind of, you know, be counterintuitive? But I do see the point you're making, Ryan. Let's move on to some draft talk. As we mentioned a couple episodes ago, we just finished Draft Preview, which you can get on bookstores and otherwise at thn.com if you subscribe to the magazine. Now, here's the question. Every year we see you around two, maybe three players that play the NHL the year after they were drafted right away, the draft year plus one season. Malcolm Celebrini is assumed to be a lock put in NHL next year, but who What other player do you believe are any the most NHL ready and could play play in the line up next year? You know, it's kind of funny because usually they are forwards, but I think there are two defenseman that have a chance. The first being Artham Levchenoff from Michigan State because he has a late birthday. So you know, he will turn 19 during the NHL season next year if he's there. Or Sam Dickinson, the defenseman of the London Knights, just because Dickinson. I mean, they're both very physically capable. They both have good frames on them. They have good size. Both are two way guys. And you know, Levchinov has played against men already in college. You know, I mean, the the NCAA, sometimes you're playing guys that are like 20-3 years old already. So he's got that experience. And then with Dickinson, when I talked to scouts this year, they were like, if you didn't know any better, you would think he was 25 years old. Like, he plays with such poison maturity that, you know, it feels like with a good camp, A-Team could say, yeah, like, that kid could give us solid minutes. And even if it's just defensive shutdown work, it's valuable for us. You know, Dickinson did put up 70 points this year, which is pretty incredible. But for me, it's like, it's the physicality. It's the shutdown role he can play that I think would be his initial ticket. And then of course, you kind of ramp up from there. So I can see either of those two make which one goes first, Which defenseman is First off the board at this year's draft? Well, again, I got two options. Levchinov would be one of those options. I, I think a lot of people kind of expect him to be the First off the board again because he seems pretty much ready and he's good at both ends of the ice and he has that college experience. The other one for me is Anton Cilia from Torpedo in the KHL, you know, 6 foot seven, very mobile. You know, I was talking to a scout earlier in the year who was saying like, look, there's some things he does better now than Victor Hedman did at the same age. And they're not, you know, not exactly the same player, but they're not far off either in terms of potential and upside. So for me, if you're a team picking early and you're trying to build, you know, a a core for the future, you look at him and you say if he hits his ceiling, we could have the next Victor Hedman. And to me that seems pretty enticing. Now there's been it's kind of the the draft of defenseman. I feel like a lot of the chatters around defenseman and whatnot. But aside from Macklin Celebrini, which forward do you think is the most NHL ready in this draft? You know, I mean, I would probably have to go with Kaden Lindstrom from Medicine Hat in the dub because he has the size, because he has, you know, the mobility, he plays physical. I, I would still like to see him play at least another year in the WHL because that Tigers team is going to be awesome next year. You know, Lindstrom, Andrew Basha, Gavin McKenna, Thomas Mercic, you know, they're they're going to be really good. So I'd like to see him get that experience. And he did, you know, miss a lot of time this year with with back problems. But you know, the question posed to me was who was probably the most ready and and Lindstrom would fit that bill, You know, with the rest of the high end forwards, you know, Berkeley Cat and Costa Hilaenius, you know, they're they're not the biggest kids in the world. You'd like to see them get a little bit stronger before they take on NHL competition. It's just the fair thing for them, you know, and again, and both of them could play internationally for Canada and Finland respectively and have a huge impact. You know, Helenius already played at the world junior last year or this season still, since the season isn't technically over. True. Just one more draft question. I'm curious. Like I I talked to one amateur scout that was saying that this year's draft, there is a, you know, every year there's obviously a drop off after pick 15, then, you know, 2025 as it goes down, but that the second round, third round area isn't the most kind of enticing in terms of hidden jewels. Have you gotten that vibe as well in terms of what this draft could be like as the later rounds go on? Yeah. I mean, the big thing I would say to that is it's it's not a good year for goaltenders. And, you know, typically what we've seen recently is goaltenders go early second round. You know, maybe, you know, if there's a real gem, if there's a yes for Walstad, a Yeroslav Ascarov, you go in the first round. But all things being equal, it's usually, you know, early second round and then you get a bit of a run. You'll see like 3 or 4 goalies all go in the second round. This year. The sense I'm getting is everyone can kind of wait. You know, Mikhail Yagerov who played in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers, you know, he might be first, It might be Carter George from OHL Owens sound, although he doesn't have ideal size, he's about 6-1, maybe a touch taller than that. But it doesn't seem like nobody regards him as a big goaltender, let's put it that way. So I think that's part of it. I, I always think there's going to be gems to be had in 3rd, 4th round. You know, like, I look at a guy like Javon Moore from Minnetonka High School in Minnesota, where, you know, he's, he's not a complete package yet, but he has some really nice attributes in terms of, you know, his offensive prowess, his athleticism. He just needs to put it together. He's still pretty raw. So, you know, that's a kid that I definitely think will go probably in the third round where he could turn into something very special. But you don't know yet. Dallas star show manager Jim Neal has won Jim of the year for the second year in a row. This is, you know, it's well deserved praise in my opinion. But if we were to kind of isolate the best move or moves he's made, which ones come to mind for you? Well, I mean, the drafts in general comes to mind for sure. When you think about Heskin and Harley Robertson, Ottinger, Rupi hints like you just go up and down that line. Wyatt Johnston, like they only make great picks and it's not, they're not top 10 picks exactly. I would say, you know, Mason Marchman, that was a great pick up. Matt Duchesne, you know, getting him after Duchesne was let go in Nashville, that paid huge dividends. So I mean, to me, it's an all around body of work. I think it's well deserved. But I guess my first, my first thought would go to the draft because they've really nailed some picks lately. Absolutely. For me, I think that the best move he's made is he doesn't trade. He doesn't trade his first round picks like year after year. You're seeing that he's built A-Team based off of the young guys, many of which were drafted past, you know, pick 15 the later rounds. And then older guys like the Benz and Sagan's, Pavelski's and stuff. But whenever they've made upgrades, they haven't thrown that trade ship in because they've been able to nail these picks. I think that if you're in Jim Neil's position, it's probably very hard to resist that temptation, but he's always stuck to the plan. I think that it's really paid dividends for them. You look at how you know, there was when Thomas Harley was, you know, draft gear plus one player. You know, you can look at the Dallas Stars lap then say, oh, if they want to upgrade, they could trade Thomas Harley. You could have said it, but low in stink over. But Jim nails never really even entertained moving those a prospects. You know, in the Chris Tanneville, he did not move a first round pick and he also didn't move AB plus or a prospect either. So that to me is one of the best parts of Jim nails tenure and another move that you kind of mentioned. But you know, the Matt Duchesne deal, like at that time, like could his reputation have been any lower than it was? And just in terms of like the embarrassment of like national bottom out if you want to be there Trots had some Barry trots the predators GM talked about how he wants guys coming to Nashville trying to win a Stanley Cup, not retire. And it's like like that's some heat. But you know, Jim nil bet on Duchenne. This the guy scoring a game-winning series clinching goal against Colorado Avalanche, That move was amazing. And I I mean, you have to tip your cat because with him, it's the entire way they do business. It's not just one move. And that's why we mentioned so many. Yeah, absolutely. So Next up, the Washington Capitals aren't in everybody that follows hockey's bad books now they purchased Cap Friendly and now we will be scrambling for information. Cap Friendly obviously is a very user friendly site with all the team's salary cap structures and basically the go to source when a team announced the contract extension but for whatever reason doesn't announce the terms of the deal. We all go to Cap Friendly. Now, obviously there's other sites like Pogpedia out there and other great sites. I'm sure we'll see another one pop up. But should the NHL be making a site like this, whether it's through.com or elsewhere, that has all this information publicly available? Well, it's interesting because, you know, everything I've heard in the past couple of days is the NHL doesn't like that this information is out there. Yeah, they hate it. So I mean, it's, and it's funny, I, I think, you know, like for you and I being journalists, like these are, these are the websites, you know, and you know, Capgeek before that where you went to them every day because everything revolves around the salary cap. Now. It's like if you're thinking about trade scenarios, if you're thinking about, you know, bio, stuff like that, if you're just looking at a team's depth chart, like you need that information. So, I mean, selfishly for us, it's like, yeah, like something needs to fill the void, you know, because we need that chart format where you can break everything down and see how long certain players are signed for. So, you know, should the NHL do it? I would love if they did. But at the same time, it's it's nice to have things independent. That's a good point. And I, I, I think, yeah, there's going to be more people stepping to the fore with, with similar information and hopefully we keep chugging along and, you know, they, they can have August to figure it out. Once it comes to September, we'll need it, you know, the new side. I mean, well, The thing is Cat friendly is going to be on until the end of July, one I believe is what I saw. So I'm sure someone can extract a lot of information, make something similar. But to me, the craziest thing about this is the idea that the NHL doesn't want this information public for a league that like Trade Center, you know, the allure of it just the way that is, especially in Canada, it's become this almost event or free agent frenzy, right? Like these are big parts of The Hockey News cycle. And the very idea that contracts, like who benefits from contracts not being public? That's what I don't even understand. You know, we all know they make a lot of money. Are we really invading their privacy? This is a league where we're watching them play professional sports. It just it it doesn't make sense to me. And I think at the very least, team should be required to announce the dollar figure. That part never made sense to me. Right. I mean, we'll find alternatives. But the idea that, you know, our team policy is the terms are not going to be announced. Like, what are we? Who are we fooling here? I think it's just so ridiculous at that point. Yeah, especially because, like, you know, somebody from that team is leaking the actual contract to an Elliot Friedman appear, LeBron, whoever, you know, minutes later. So they're like, oh, no, we can't say what it is. But then we just told this guy, well, you would almost wonder if the PA would say we want. Well, I mean, The thing is because there's been cat friendly, this has never been an issue. And again, I think that there will be a replacement there. But if let's say in some world that there was a lull in The Hockey News cycle where we didn't have a cup, a pup PD or cat friendly or one of these sites, I would almost guarantee that the PA would step in and say we need this up publicly available. You know, like you want to know what that guy's making that guy and you want to have that some available generates buzz. I think that'd be a priority for sure. Speaking of butts and big time topics, a very interesting bit of news came out on Wednesday afternoon. Pure LeBron reporting that Patrick Lonnie and the Columbus Blue Jackets are mutually looking towards getting him a a fresh start and treating him elsewhere. Lonnie had a difficult year. He entered the NHLNHLPA cisterns program. He has struggled and Columbus hasn't been able to find that consistency. We don't know all the specifics of, you know, his off by situation and what not, but looking at this from a, you know, hockey asset perspective, do any names come up or do any questions arise when assessing the fact that Lane is on the block and probably very likely to be moved before the end of the summer? Yeah, I, I, I feel the best thing for him would probably be a market where there's not a lot of spotlight and, you know, like, like maybe Utah is good. I I know they're brand new, so there will be that spotlight, but they're fans, at least for the first year. You're going to be like, hey, this is really cool. We got a hockey team. Who are these guys? We're meeting them. It's fun. But for my age, he would come in. Yeah. He would come in with no baggage, right? Everybody would. Yeah. It'd be a clean slate there. The other one I'm thinking of is Chicago, where? But it was Conor Bernard. And, you know, I mean, Bernard can score, but he's a wicked playmaker as well. And, you know, as the Blackhawks continue to rebuild, I mean, they're still in the through, right? Like. If they're marginally better this year, good for them, but I mean, they're not going to be contending for a playoff spot or anything like that. They're still accruing assets. So, you know, like they did last year with Fellino and Hall and Perry, even though that one didn't work out and and Hall missed most of the year due to injury. You know, I think Kyle Davidson was on the right track with his moves to surround Bedard with veteran voices and a little bit of help in the line up. I think Lyne, again, you know, could be a fresh start and put them with the Dard, see if there's chemistry there. Maybe you got something, at least in the short term. I love the idea of Lyne going to Chicago for two reasons. First off, Lyne did an unbelievable job mentoring Adam Fantilli in Columbus. I talked to Fantilli for a story for thehockeynews.com, and it's been well documented elsewhere as well that he was really a big resource for him. And I think what's cool about Lyne is he has all these, you know, eight years of NHL experience, but he's kind of like a young veteran, right? He's like that young, bloody resonate with this younger core, which is great from a purely hockey standpoint. Yeah, he's making 8.7 a year for this year, the next year. But Chicago's got so much cap space, they also have so much opportunity in the event that hey, maybe they can prop this value back up. And then in a year and a half you could have a prime asset on your heads at the deadline because you know, it's too. And then in the best case scenario, because this is during Bedard's entry level contract, you are maybe squeaking to the playoffs and you have a a reinvented Patrick line. The one caveat I would say about that is, you know, with Chicago, the the possibility is very exciting, but that is a pressure type of market. And I almost wonder, right, I almost wonder if that's really what's best for the player and for, you know, a team acquiring him. I do like the Utah possibility, though, because Lyne is a marketable name in a lot of ways, given, you know, if you're a new hockey fan looking him up. Oh, this guy scored forty goals. Wow, he's a rocket of a shot. There could be some not pressure, but you know, kind of a a nudge to, you know, this guy's got the talent. Let's put him kind of front and center, see if we can get out of him. You know, you you have to sell tickets to end of the day, right, for all the flaws in his game. So I do like that possibility, but I'm wondering if Columbus would they have to retain money on this type of deal because we're talking about almost 9,000,000 bucks for a player that we don't know the specifics, but they may have to retain money there right. And that and if they do, that does open up another whole world of suitors. True. And you know what the name that I also just thought I was San Jose, another rebuilding team. You know, they're going to have Macklin celebrity Will Smith down the middle, but you know, fill out that roster, you know, maybe Lion a can can gel with one of the young UNS on the wing and, you know, pot 2530 goals. Who knows? Absolutely. And he'll be in in in any of the situations that we've named. He's going to be the number one trigger point. Maybe not Chicago, but on the power play. And that's a pretty scary sight to say the least. Sure. OK, so moving on to some more offseason talk. We obviously have free agency coming up before then and during that period buyouts obviously a big topic of conversation. Who are some who's the name? You list one, I'll list one. We'll go back and forth on them. Who is a prime bio candidate in your mind for this offseason? Well, you know, I'm going to keep it topical with the Stanley Cup Final. I wonder if Edmonton looks at Cody Cece. Obviously he's struggled and you know, for me Biot, I know for a lot of fans, they just want like the highest paid player to go, but a lot of those high paid players have like 6-7 year contract where it's like you got to spread that over the long term. To me, it's like you got to find a different solution. And that's why I'm not saying like Pierre Luc Du Bois, for example, because it's like the kings would be paying that forever, but CC it's manageable. It's one more year. It's like I think it's like 3.7 or something like that. And you know, like obviously what we saw, you know, in game two was they they can play all right without him. I I liked Vincent Desarnay. I'm surprised he took this long to get in the series. It's true. He's just a big dude that gets in the way. And sometimes that's all you need there, right? It's better than giving the puck away. So yeah, sometimes that length just works. So, you know, and, and again, like I'm, I'm sure some Edmonton fans are saying, hey, Jack Campbell, but Jack Campbell, that's $5,000,000 and that's multiple years. I think it's three or four more years. That's a long time. I almost feel like you got to just suck it up and wait another year or two before you consider a bio there just because of the cap ramifications, even though the cap is going up. Exactly. But because the cap is going up, that's why I think you would side with a Cody CC type of deal type of bio because caps going up. So the actual percent of the cap allocated to dead money in Campbell is going down a little bit. You know, obviously it's marginal, but in terms too like CC only has one year left, so you only have this contract on the books for an extra two years or whatever. You know, you're only playing with dead money for a little bit. And it's a fraction like the extra amount of cap space that they've gotten here, you know, with the cap going up even more than we expected, that would help them a lot. I think you'll give them the clean slate that they really need without damaging their future picture. Maybe we see a Jack Campbell buy out next year or what not, But I I agree, I think it's probably premature with the deal. A name I was thinking about, Ryan, was Tori Krug. You know, Saint Louis has a lot of money dedicated to older veteran defenseman, many of which are on the decline, and Krug is one of them. There was a deal apparently last offseason for him to go to Philadelphia, which he next because he has a no movement clause. And I wonder if, you know, the Blues look at it like, hey, we, we need to change things up here in terms of our solid cap configuration, our core, the retool that they're in. I know, like you talked to Doug Armstrong about how they're in the, you know, asset collection phase. They've spoken about that at various points. Buying out Krug would be one of those things where it's kind of a reset and they, they only have so many bullets. But, and I think it'd be inevitable if that did happen, he'd be going to Boston in a heartbeat. But I I don't know, I could see a buyout happening of that degree, whether it's him or Letty or Falk. But I I think Krug is the most prime candidate. Yeah. I mean, the Blues are certainly interesting because they are in that transitional phase where, like you say, they've got a lot of those older veterans, particularly on defense. But then they have guys just entering their primes like Jordan Kairu and Robert Thomas up front, where it's like, OK, well, we're never going to be horrible, but we're never going to. We're not going to be great yet. The name I'm thinking of in Saint Louis is Kevin Hayes. He didn't have a great year, only 29 points. And, you know, there's a guy that, again, I think he has one more year left on his contract or, you know, something to that effect. So it wouldn't be that bitter a pill to swallow. And it would give them a little more flexibility if they cannot move one of those defensemen that you mentioned. Yeah, Kevin Hayes. That's actually, that's, that's kind of the CC alternative to the Campbell bout there too, right? Because you're offloading, you know, the $7,000,000 cap that Hayes has similar to Krug's. The residual pay is a lot lower. And I think too, given that their depth and stuff, they want to be having those guys, whether it's Thomas and I, I don't think Kyra's going to shift back down the middle. I think they'll keep on the wing. But still, you know, I think that that new guard coming is important for them. And I, I just, I can't see them moving that, that contract. They tried to do it before, especially after the but after the year they had this year, it seems kind of unlikely to me to be honest. All right, so Speaking of offseason stuff, let's get to a little bit of rapid fire, you know, stay or go of some pending UFAS that are set to hit the market. I'll name a name. Tell me if you think they will stay with the team that they end of the season with or if they will be going to open market and signing elsewhere first name Jake Gensel. I think he'll I think he'll stay. Yeah. I think Carolina, you know, I mean, he can see a contender. They just they just need more goaltending. Fair enough. I think he leaves. I think that someone else will offer him money, more money than Carolina will because they're very set in their ways. I think he'll take the bag and run. So I would not rule the possibility of him going to market. Not loving when he's teasing goes. Yeah, I'll go back to Carolina. Great place to play. Jonathan Marks, the show. The original misfit. Will he stay in Nevada? I would love him to stay, but it feels like all the rumblings have him leaving because of course, Vegas does not have a lot of cap space and they got to sign some other guy. So I think that's it's an unfortunate breakup between Marshy and the golden lights. I'm going to disagree with you again. I think they find a way to keep Marshy face of the franchise. They had the the benefit of no state income tax. He could take a quote UN quote discount, even though it would be, you know, just a matter of the take home pay. But I think that March so will say they'll find a way to and if they don't, it'd be fooling me because I remember some of the rhetoric being that he was going to stay recently. But they are cutthroat. So would would be a shock to no one. Next up, Max Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs staying or going? It feels like he's going to stay. Yeah, I'm sure it feels like he likes it here. It's really about the number, right? Like, I mean, they're not going to break the bank for him, but if he's happy here and again, like when you're in Toronto, it's like, yeah, you get your salary, but there'll be plenty of endorsements if he wants them because it's such a huge market. So I'm going to say he'll stay. I think he'll stay, too. This is someone that has a very strong connection to the Leafs in a league where obviously all things aren't equal and you know, at least the teams are only go so far. Max Domi just is a lead for this generation. I think truly being made a point in getting him if they're gonna try to keep him and only have a problem in keeping him there in a multi year deal. Honestly, Next up, Jake Debrusk. This guy's been a Boston Bruin for a long time. There was the trade request. It was next, but now he's going to open market, it seems like. Will he resound with the Bruins or is he going elsewhere? I think he'll go elsewhere. I, I think you know, this Bruins team, as as good as they were this year, I think they'd still surprise some people with how good they were. It still didn't turn into a long playoff run. And if you're Debrus, you have to say like is, is it going to get better here or is it going to get worse over time? And he might just want greener pastures and and a bigger role. Yeah, absolutely. I think he's someone that has the potential to be extraordinary complimentary piece. I think you're right. I don't know if he's going to be able to reach that while staying in Boston. And I don't know how much playoff hockey will be playing in the back end of what should be a long term deal. Next up, Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights. Is he staying or leaving? I think he'll leave. But I guess I'm kind of crossing myself because I was going to say they can't have both Marsha so and Chandler Stephenson. And I said Marsh, I was leaving. But I guess I'll just be consistent and say, you know, it's it's Vegas. And unless they get him for like a really good price, you know, he's going to want, I mean, he really flourished in Vegas, right? Like he's a much more valuable player now than he was when he got to town. I'm sure he's going to want to cash in. Absolutely. I think Chandler Stephenson too, yes, he had a a more of a down year per SE, but this is a guy that's coming off a huge bargain bin deal for a long time. He's one of the fastest players in the league. I think that a lot of teams are going to be offering him pretty decent money, at the very least more than the $2.8 million he was making. I don't think Vegas is prepared to pay that price given his somewhat, you know, gradual decline we're seeing. I don't think they're going to want to bet on that. So I agree, I think he he's going to go elsewhere for sure. Now some defenseman, Brett Pesci staying or going with the Carolina Hurricanes, I think he's going again just because of, you know, cap considerations. But also, I mean, I think there are a lot of teams that would love to have a Brett Pesci on their blue line. So I think the demand will be there. And I'm sure his his agent is saying let's test that market. Yeah, Brad Pesci's one of, you know, the parts of like the summer of defense and we're seeing with some other names that you know, will come up. But I think that Carolina, as much as trends maybe a certain way they set their market price, they stick to it and they don't really budget whatsoever. There's reports that they're trying to assign Jacob Slave into a long term deal. That's probably their priority. They're not about to get into an arms race for other teams over Brett Pesci, who I think they believe they can probably replace at least a fraction of him elsewhere for much cheaper. Now Nikita Zedora, the folk hero, Vancouver favorite in a short term, does he return to Vancouver on a multi year deal or does he go to the open market and find it elsewhere? I think he goes to open market and I think this will just end up being kind of a clash between management and Zidorov and and his team led by Dan Milstein, where, you know, they're going to want bank and the Canucks are probably going to say like, well, we only got so much money. We you know, we only have so much term that we're willing to give. So I think that's going to push him into the market. It's just that it would be a it would be a tough negotiation in terms of, you know, what his actual value is in the eyes of, you know, him versus the Canucks. One more for you, Matt Roy, The Los Angeles Kings, a great and very unheralded, you know, defensive defenseman for the Kings. Do you think that the Kings will make it work or is he could be a casualty of their very tight cap situation? I think they'll make it work. You know, when you've been with a team that long and, you know, a market that's like pretty lovely to live in, right. It's Los Angeles. I I think they'll make that one more. Yeah, agreed there. All right. That's all the time that we have. But thank you for joining us for another episode of The Wrap Around with Jacob Staller and Ryan Kennedy. We will see you guys next time at the rink.