That's the conventional wisdom, but these are unconventional times. It will be interesting to see what the salary cap will be next year, and even more signficantly, what team's budgets will be compared to this year. The salary cap may not fall much, and might even increase a bit, as it'll be based on this year's revenues, whereas teams will be setting their budget based on their anticipated revenue, so fewer teams may be willing to spend to the cap max.
That's not to say there won't be healthy interest in Komisarek, but the astronomical numbers that we've seen in the past may not materialize.
If I'm reading his comments right, Gainey is a guy who has absolutely no problem with paying a player a big salary - he's not solely motivated to get someone as cheap as possible. He'll pay a big price if he believes it's fair, and he'll be most comfortable offering a fair price when he has the most information. That's why he likes to negotiate after the season is over, when he's seen the player's performance in its totality. Gainey is unconcerned about impending free agency: if a player is happy and wants to stay, there's lots of time to get a deal done if the team wants him. If a player is bent on testing the market, it's likely he made that decision well in advance.