“That was what Connor wanted,” he said on Monday. “It was not like we made a pitch that he should sign for that amount. We never had those conversations at all.

“I’m being genuine when I say every conversation I’ve had with Connor or (his agent) Judd (Moldaver) over the summer and the previous weeks, we never once talked about money. This is a unique situation because it’s not about the money for Connor.

“We’re just excited that he believes in where we are and where we’re headed.”

“I’ve been able to run into some of our players here today, including Jake Walman… and the players were shocked as well,” said Bowman. “‘Like, holy cow, what a leader this guy is.’

“And I think everyone probably had the same reaction. Getting to know Connor how I have over the last year, he is a one-of-a-kind guy. He’s such a tremendous leader and so motivated to try to win and I think that’s a testament to who he is as a person.”

“I think that’s part of what these conversations we’ve had with Connor is just explaining to him the vision on how we can do this?” he said. “How can we also find a way to bring in some younger guys and develop them.

“They don’t have to be all-world players this year, but you look ahead two years from now, you get a couple of guys in their early 20s that have two years of NHL experience. That’s when those guys tend to really come into their own, and that’s lining up really well with this timeline.

“It was really an unprecedented type of situation. It was really trying to get Connor to a comfort level where this felt right.”

“That’s going to impact more where we go in the summertime,” he said. “We were always going to be operating and trying to improve our team… I think it’s a great situation to be in.

“As we get into the season more and you start looking at the deadline and the off-season, then we certainly have more options than we would have otherwise and that’s fantastic.”