I actually like it for both sides. IMO this puts alot of pressure on Laine to excel so he can cash in on a big contract after this.
Let's see what hes got!!.. bettin' on himself.. I like it
I figure he caved a bit because he figured the optics weren't really good for him.
1. His last season was really, really bad. I mean - it was catastrophically bad even after December. So PR isn't exactly high on his side with most fans disappointed with him last season.
2. His comments that came out in the media lately likely also caused a lot of drama/bad feelings around team and city, and weren't helping matters.
I don't think he left a ton of money on the table. Even if a team offer sheeted him, because of the above 2 points there was a bit of risk (less so with guys like Marner, Point, etc), so getting a very high value deal was probably harder. 2 year is super short term - he has all the talent in the world. Bounce back, and cash in hard after.
I really like it from his POV.