Duclair provided positive value because he signed for $1.6m. If that's was Duclair's demand to Dorion at the end of the 2019-20 season, we almost definitely would have re-signed him. The reason we didn't sign him was because he was likely going to arbitration. In arbitration, the comparables showed he would likely get something in the range of $3.5-4m.
Arbitration is always heavily dependent on stats. Duclair had good stats, but that it. He's also a winger (less valuable), he's also one-dimensional (less valuable), he's not a veteran leader (less valuable), he was also up for arbitration at a very uncertain time, in the middle of 2020, with a flat cap. We would have ended up with a negative value contract. The fact alone that the market dictated his value at around $1.6m instead of the $3.5-4m is proof of this. The fact that he was traded for a 5th rounder and a 4th line player at $3m instead of the $3.5-4m is even more evidence of his true value.
One dimensional middle-6 wingers are far less valuable than people think they are. These players constantly bounce around the league for so little. Just look at Zadina for example. Or, like Tolvanen, etc.