We know they didn't want to sign him for $3M because the front office all but had a press conference to announce that fact.
Ned was shooting for that type of number, hence posturing toward $5M when the Canes were thinking more like $1.5M -- that sets up arbitration to land in the middle. All of that was a non-starter for an org that doesn't rate Ned as a bona fide #1. But in a league where Carter Hart signs for $4M after a season where he posted a .877, there was also the possibility of an award that would have made Ned completely immovable by trade. So the minute he made it clear that he was going to arbitration, the negotiation was over. Neither side was particularly in the wrong there... Ned simply played his way out of our cap structure. Good for him, he got paid, which is the point of being a pro goalie.
For the sake of discussion, let's assume Ned would've signed the same 3X2 deal he got with DET if he were offered it in CAR.
They would not be paying him as a bona fide #1 with that contract. They are paying Andersen to be the starter (unless you want to go down the rabbit hole of speculating whether Andersen would've signed here with Ned on the roster).
The question now becomes, will Andersen+Raanta+$1M in cap space yield a better team outcome than Andersen+Ned.
I've watched very little of Andersen and Raanta in recent years...and will not posture that I have well-founded opinion on which duo would be better. That being said, with Andersen's injury history, going with another fragile G as the backup is rolling the dice.
Over/under - regular season games started by either Andersen or Raanta - 70.
The competing storylines (3.5/1.5 vs 5/2.5 ask/bid) are interesting...wish it was clear which set of numbers were true. If he were holding firm at 5 with the Canes and then immediately signed for 3 with DET, I might be coming around to the narrative that the move was orchestrated to get close to his fiance. If the 3.5/1.5 numbers are true, then obviously Ned moved to a place that is paying him double...and that's why he was moved...and the 5/2.5 are mis-information from the ministry of truth.