Team has all the leverage. That’s the point of RFA status
Say the Flames offer 6.5, and Tkachuk demands 7.5.
Tkachuk’s option is to sit out until he gets what he wants.
About 12 games in, that 1MM difference is gone. Will the Flames cave? May depend how they are doing.
Okay, so say nobody caves, and it is about the earnings over multiple years, and Tkachuk still isn’t fine with 6.5? Then Tkachuk’s option is to sit out a whole year. Throwing away 6.5 M today so you can make 1 MM extra will take over 6 years to pay off.
That’s not leverage for the player.
So no, you don’t just throw 8-9 million at him just to get it done
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