Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts
Its not about trading him to get a useless 6th round pick, it allows the team to move on and do other things. They had to operate with with a 10.5 million cap charge not knowing what is going to happen with him.
I also think he cost himself money by waiting till the last second to announce he is going to free agency. If more teams knew prior to his announcement I am sure some others would have made moves to open up cap space, kind of like when Brad Richards hit the market.
The post by Squiggs pretty much confirms what some of us are saying, he had no intention of signing and he knew he was gone he just strung along the negotiations. His reasons for leaving don't matter that's a right he earned, but there was no reason to drag out negotiations with us if his heart was set on leaving years ago. If people read what Lewis wrote in that special letter to the fans, it says he began thinking about playing closer to home back in 2018 after his dads health scare.
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The bolded was entirely within the club's control. They decided to focus all of their attention on trying to sign a pending UFA.