With so many good kids coming up and the system so full it's up to him to perform or get left behind. That's just how it is. He got on Claude's bad side and after a few games Butch didn't think that he was up to what he expected of him too. Time to say bye bye, it's best for the team and best for him.
Which kid is going to put up 40-50 points next year? Spooner will do it, just unremarkably. If he's the 3rd line center next year I have no problem with it. He's not part of our future plan barring massive changes, but he can certainly bridge the gap.
I agree it'd be best for both sides if we could move him, but we shouldn't dump him. He's worth more than we'd get. If nothing else, hope for a rebound year and trade him for inflated value at the deadline.