Yaremchuk: Texier continued what’s been an interesting trend in the last few years. Last season, Brandon Saad had a handful of millions left on his deal with the Blues, but he put his hand up and said he’s not playing there anymore. They terminated his deal, he gave up the money, he signed for the league minimum with the Vegas Golden Knights and played there the rest of the year.

We saw Kampf do a similar thing for the Leafs, where he said “If you’re just going to bury me in the American Hockey League, let me out of my contract and I’ll sign somewhere else for cheap.”

What do you make of this trend of guys doing that?

Hutton: I guess it’s one of those things where you take the hit now and the money later. But there’s always that fact that there’s a reason why you’re not playing. I know the grass isn’t always greener, but when you look at Texier in 2020-21, in 36 games he had 11 goals and nine assists, so he can produce.

Is this an opportunity where there’s only so many seats on the table? At times you have to bet on yourself, but at times, you have to look in the mirror and say, “I am who I am.”