Evan Rodrigues' agent turned down $10 million offer at the start of free agency

It took some time, but free agent forward Evan Rodrigues finally found himself a new team earlier this month when he inked a one year, $2 million deal with the Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.

The 29 year old Rodrigues was predicted by many to cash in as a free agent on the strength of his stellar season last year with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After all, the Penguins wanted him back but they were too cap strapped to make a competitive offer. Surely, someone would scoop Rodrigues up on a big money deal, right? Then... nothing.

Rodrigues stood by while literally dozens of other free agent forwards signed, with him just watching from the sidelines. Now, we have some insight into what really happened though. According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Rodrigues was offered a three year deal worth $10.5 million ($3.5 million cap hit) at the beginning of free agency, but his agent urged him to pass on the deal. That agent, of course, is no longer employed by Rodrigues. For those doing the math at home, that's nearly $8 million that his former agent cost him. Ouch. I don't know about you, but if someone cost me $8 million I'd be a pretty motivated player heading into the season. I fully expect Rodrigues to play his heart out for his new squad. 

We can only speculate as to who made that offer to Rodrigues, but there were rumor reports swirling that the Calgary Flames were very interested in him both before and after making their big splash with the Nazem Kadri signing. The Flames have just over $2 million in cap space currently, so I imagine that GM Brad Treliving had another move up his sleeve if he was indeed to man who offered Rodrigues the deal reported by Seravalli.

As it is, Rodrigues is a member of the Avs and there's certainly worse situations he can find himself in. Here's hoping he puts together another solid campaign and can earn himself a stellar contract next offseason. After all, he has a shot at playing significant minutes with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen... that's a recipe for point production right there.