Benning signed Holtby because he didn't want to put too much on Demko's shoulders right away. Demko was alway going to be the starter going forward. I don't know why that is so hard for people to figure out.
And stop acting like Pettersson and Hughes are getting $10+ million on their next contracts. They're NOT getting that much. We will have over $20 million in cap space this off season, and even after Pettersson, Hughes and Demko re-sign, there will still be a bit left over to get some depth pieces. So no, we do not need to buyout Holtby. If anyone is getting bought out, it will be Eriksson, not Holtby.