That tells me that while the Devils were throwing 5 years and about 5 million at Clowe, Sather was using a lot of that money to lock McDonagh up.
Teams generally don't like doing that. Plus, the players has to want to get offers. If he says don't bother, then there is nothing to worry about. To me, the Rangers could have a lot of money free next year if they buy out Richards. So, teams are probably wary about retaliation.