Quote:
Originally Posted by burnitdown
I don't think you understand what a qualifying offer is. In order to keep a player a RFA (and not a UFA), a team must qualify them at a certain amount. The player has the option to accept this amount or hold out for more. Clearly, O'Reilly would just accept the QO if the Flames qualified him (unless he suddenly becomes a top 20 player in the league). But if the Flames decline to qualify him, it makes him a UFA. Then he's free game to all teams.
A qualifying offer is not some pie in the sky number of what the player wants. There's a huge difference between what the qualifying offer is and what the player is demanding.
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I understand perfectly what a qualifying offer is, but no team is bound to limit themselves to this option. Again, yes, qualifying a player prevents them from becoming a UFA on July 1, 2014. Signing a 3 year deal at $5M per will also prevent him from becoming a UFA.
What benefit does ROR get by holding out on the Flames? He won't get $6.5M in free agency, so the only reason why he'd hold out is to screw over the Flames. Is that really going to happen?