Listening to Bucci adds energy to the game making it seem so much livelier than with Rimer on the mic. It’d be great if he took over the call. It’s easy to discern he has a fondness of the team and the city but it’s doubtful that’s enough to entice a move from ESPN.
I agree, unless he doesn't have faith in ESPN given their recent massive turnover or maybe he's not confident the network will retain its interest in the league. Or maybe he really wants to relocate to Ohio? Maybe he has elderly parents? I don't know his family situation at all. Again, I agree it doesn't seem like the typical career move, especially given he almost single-handledly kept the NHL a presence at ESPN.
That interview also included him telling a story about growing up in Steubenville and forming, with a group of friends in 1982, a four-team street hockey league for which they kept a schedule, stats, and for which he created a newsletter inspired by the Hockey News.
Reminded me of when a buddy and I - probably around 1978 - "played" an entire season of the Montreal Canadiens on the frozen back patio at his house. One of us would be the skater, playing all 10 positions 5v5, and the other would be the goalie, also for both teams. The skater was also responsible for running play-by-play. We kept a box score for each game in a spiral notebook, tracked their record and an imaginary record for every other team, and played a full playoff schedule. The Canadiens won the Cup that year, you might not be surprised to learn. My favorite non-Penguins players growing up was Steve Shutt.