Quoting: Jdfitz77
And yet he chose not to walk away from the $5mil paycheck
A guy walking away from $15mil is hard to imagine,
very hard
It is definitely more likely he sticks it out for another season or 2 then retires. He'll probably be asked to waive his NMC for the expansion draft too.
He receives 3M of the 4M owed next season in July(signing bonus)
In 2021 he receives 2.5M of the 5M owed in July(Signing bonus)
Then the final year he receives 3M of the 4M owed in July(signing bonus)
If he were to retire following the 2020/2021 season after receiving his Signing Bonus for the 2021/2022 season, he would leave 2 years of his contract not played, while only leaving 6.5M on the table.
So if he retires with 2 seasons remaining on his contract after collecting his Signing Bonus in the off season. He'll only have played 5 years on a 7 year 42M contract, while still earning 35.5M.
An early retirement is a likely outcome, just whether it's with 2 or 1 years remaining is the question. Obviously a lot of things need to be factored in that haven't happened yet.
If the Flames somehow miraculously go on a playoff run and can win a few rounds with him being a contributor, then the team and his outlook might look a bit more positive moving forward.