His contract was slightly front loaded. He still gave up $3,625,000 for 2025-26 and about $1.65 for the remainder of this season. After taxes, fees, agent's expenses, etc.. that's probably about $2.5 million in actual cash.
No he won't make as much on the UFA market, if that was the case, he'd have been picked up for free on the wavier wire.
Worst case scenario for him is that he signs for league minimum for the remainder of this year, and then plays in Europe next year. So he's realistically giving up about $1,000,000 in cash in hand total, after factoring in those worst case scenarios. If he's properly invested the money he has made, he could be making several times that a year in passive income already....so maybe it's not that big of a deal.
I can't tell if this is refreshing to see someone give up cash for the dream, or if he just thinks he's too good for the AHL.
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