In the off-season he looked an upgrade on Gauthier. With Goat looking passable now, what’s the point of Spezza? With our cap situation borderline ridiculous, he’s gone.
This may be true. Some players though, need another guy breathing down their necks in order to perform optimally. It's impossible to say, and it's not the sole reason I would ever keep a player, but him leaving could make Gauthier comfortable and he might slip. Just a thought.
In the end, if a guy can't keep up with the game and seems to take penalties in the process of trying to, there's no sense hanging him out to dry. Better he try and find a situation. It's tough. I hoped he could bring some veteran leadership and work ethic. He did earn them the extra point against the Flyers.
With his age and former success, it can't be easy for him to just say, "yeah, I'll stick around as a healthy scratch all year until someone gets injured again to get some playing time", and, he may not even be first choice in that scenario.