I personally think that they were less afraid of what Byron's award in arbitration would be than they were of simply going through the process and needing to destroy his confidence and their relationship (as often happens). It was a calculated risk to let him go UFA and then let the market dictate the terms and it paid off.
I doubt he would have gotten much more than that in arbitration, but the Flames didn't want to drag him through the mud in order to make sure either.
__________________
"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
|