They are saying that because they paid him 1 year/$6.1 million, the Qualifying Offer in the 2022 offseason had to be $6.1 million. Without offering that, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. In order to get him to sign a deal with lower AAV than the qualifying offer and avoid having to make a qualifying offer to retain him, they offered him an 8-year worth $38,560,000, or $4.82 million AAV. Essentially, they couldn't get him at $4.82 million for say 3 years because then he's better off just signing the qualifying offer or if not offered a qualifying offer, becoming an unrestricted free agent, so they were boxed into gambling on a long-term deal that they hoped he'd outperform.
A calculator that determines the qualifying offer details for an NHL restricted free agent (RFA)
www.capfriendly.com
The qualifying offer is calculated from the players base salary (NHL salary minus signing bonus), and at minimum must meet the seasons minimum salary requirements:
- 110% of the base salary if the base salary is less than or equal to $660,000
- 105% of the base salary if the base salary is greater than $660,000 or less than $1,000,000. However, this qualifying offer cannot exceed $1,000,000.
- 100% of the base salary if the base salary is equal to or greater than $1,000,000.
- CBA Reference 10.2 (a)