JBot gave him a two year bridge. Kevyn Adams gave him a one year bridge.
To me that was the first signal that Kevyn was about to blow everything up. I believe he intended to move the old core including Eichel right from the start, and signing Sam to the 1 year deal was the opening salvo in the remake of the team. I think at that point it wasn't so much that Sam wanted out as it was he'd been told by management (via the 1 year contract) that he wasn't going to be with the team long term.
He already knew that he was going to rebuild and that Sam wasn't part of it.