He should have spoken up at the original attempt to trade for him and allow Waddell to work out a different trade for Hanifin/Lindy.
Let’s put a few things into perspective here:
I think the relationship started off on a few assumptions. An assumption from CAR that they’d be able to quickly move on from Faulk after acquiring Hamilton, and an assumption from Fox that CAR would still be in rebuilding mode so spots would be available to him.
When they made the Hamilton trade in June of last year, they tried all summer to trade Faulk, to no avail. So. I’m guessing the initial discussions with Fox were that there’d easily be a spot for him to take after his season with Harvard was done. Also, in June of 2018, no one could have foreseen the success CAR would have and also Faulk’s resurgence.
Suddenly, it’s April 2019, there’s no room for Fox to jump into a spot for a few games to burn a year off his elc and there’s presumably no spot for him this coming season. From his standpoint, I see exactly why he refused to sign. From a CAR standpoint, is Fox really good enough to supplant Faulk or Hamilton on for a team working its way back to playoff contention every year? (Not to mention the fact there’s also Pesce and TVR in front of him).
It’ll suck seeing Fox possibly hit his ceiling on a rival division team. But, Waddell did the absolute best he could and now has at least 2 high end prospects in Rees and Honka plus a likely 2nd next draft for a guy that was never going to be a Hurricane.
All that said, I don’t think it’s realistic at all to expect a 19 year old to tell you exactly what he intends to do in a years time. CAR got the best they could out of the situation and now they also have Priskie. I wish Fox great success in his first 30 NHL games this year, after that, I wish him a long and happy AHL career.