It was a bad GM move to let your one of your top 3 athletes go- particularly one you found in the 2nd round. And then get made to look foolish at that game.
I'm betting if JRob had mentioned to AAS the number was an extra 5 mil/year- she'd have said do it. I think JRob thought he get manage the cap situation he messed up by overpaying injury prone guys who just don't play enough. I also suspect JRob told AAS "Trust me, this will work out......" And then she got embarrassed and took a bigger picture look at the body of his work.
We've got a very expensive new stadium now under contract. AAS can't tolerate losing fan loyalty and sentiment. And we are def going to tumble/tank next year to build up draft capital. It's going to be a tricky situation to navigate fan interest as the team rebuilds under Cowden/Vrabel, knowing that the stadium needs to be sold out.
I agree the game most definitely was the straw that broke the camel's back.