Coco-puffs said:
In the case of the Leafs, they could have refused to sign the addendum. If he was worried about it he could have said I'll only consent if you promise the addendum.
Which I suppose is possible that he did and his refusal to waive was based on the Leafs refusal to sign the addendum.
But even still, I think it misses the point. The Leafs could, if they chose, keep Filppula up and simply never play him. Or we could spend all of next year hearing about Filppula's mysterious injury keeping him out of play.
I think the point still is that once you gain a reputation for maybe being willing to take vets and treat them in a way they think is fair then a reputation can spread and some players in similar situations will be wary about joining your team.
Like I said, it's not a huge loss or anything but it's worth noting.