I think its his swan song. He wants the family at the games in St. Paul and to retire at home. Same as last time he signed here. He wanted to play in front of family. The only reason he was not resigned then was Fletcher didn't want to insult him with a crappy contract. Not saying he should take a $750k contract and have fun, but he should understand the Wild are cap strung and they'll most likely have to rotate him out for a few games just to keep him fresh anyways. If he would truly want to retire in Minnesota, this is the prime chance to do it.
You're right, he'll probably be prepared to take less to play here or in PIT, who is in the same situation cap wise as the Wild. Remember, he and Rutherford go way back. I think both GM's would be happy to pay him 2M for one year, but they simply can't do it.
I would imagine that both are trying to clear as much cap as possible so that they can give him an offer that isn't insulting. I'm thinking 1.5M or so.