First, as I have stated in a previous post, AA had a 9% percent shooting percentage this season, compared to a 15 and 17% percentage shooting previous in his first two seasons. To say he is going to continue to regress I think is very debatable, I think he just needs to do a better job capitalizing his chances. Also, his goal scoring went down from 18 to 16 but he still ended up tied for 3rd in goals this year with two guys who played 8 and 11 more games then him (Larkin, Nielsen). Considering the name of the game is too score goals to win I would consider getting rid of one your goal scorers as not a very good decision, especially for a team who was fourth last in goals as a team.
Second, I would not say either Mantha or Bert were remotely close to shifting positions and linemate's as frequently as AA. As soon as Bert had decent chemistry with Z he was with him the rest of the year. If Mantha wasn't on a line with Z, he would have Larkin as his centre.
Third, when did he ask for 3 mil? I do not remember him ever asking for that much but to say he barely played up to his 1.38 million dollar contract is not fair. At 1.38 million and scoring 16 goals and having 33 points, any of the other 30 teams would take that contract in a heartbeat. This season will be much different though because he will have an arbitrator and AA can't high ball and the Red Wings can't low ball. The deal would be done prior to training camp and AA will have a training camp and exhibition games to get his feet wet and work on his defensive game and other aspects of his game he wasn't able to work on last year.
Lastly, you make it seem like AA is the only player in the NHL that is confident in his abilities? If he didn't have confidence in his ability then he likely wouldn't have made it this far in his hockey career. Unfortunately, he made a gamble and bet on himself and he did not have as good a year as us fans hoped. But the fact people are giving up him and wanting him out of town is puzzling. We are not even close to making a playoff spot and our prospect pool at the moment is certainly in the bottom half and we want to get rid of of one of our younger players because he underachieved one season in only his SECOND full season in the NHL. Also, clearly the players on the team enjoy his presence, as on Instagram earlier in the spring he went on a golfing trip with Mantha, Bert and Larkin, and he is always spotted with his teammates joking and smiling on the Red Wings account so maybe his attitude is maybe not as big an issue as you perceive. It doesn't seem like an Evander Kane in Winnipeg situation where the players wanted him out of town....