Not sure what you're trying to say,
Arbitration can be as low as 85% of the QO, or maybe it's final year of the contract, I'm not sure of the top of my head but since DBC is a grandfathered contract, QO and final year are the same
I didn't try to say a whole lot.
Team elected arbitration has not been mentioned by the Senators wrt DeBrincat.
I don't know about the savings available through arbitration in DBC's case. Possible savings are an assumption on my part. I assumed an advantage to the team over qualifying ..but just guessing.
Found this on it not sure if it answers all your concerns;
Team Elected Arbitration
Teams can take players to arbitration, to a maximum of 2 Team Elections per year.
If a player made $2.11M or more in the last season, the Arbitration award must be 85% of their previous season pay or more. If the team elects arbitration, the player can still sign an offer sheet with another team prior to July 5 at 5pm, which would negate the team elected arbitration. The Team must elect the arbitration by 5pm on the later of June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Finals ends.
If a player makes less than $2.11M, received a Qualifying Offer but did not accept it, the team must offer an amount equal to or more than their pay in the previous season. The Team election window is from July 5 and 5pm to July 6 at 5pm.
A player can only receive 1 Team Elected arbitration in their career, regardless of if the case was settled prior to the actual arbitration award.
7.65 is .85 of 9 best case for the Sens. But the grandfathering thing you mentioned is not mentioned in this explanation.