I don't think so, no.
I feel like they never had any real intentions on recording a new album and/or continuing on for much longer with his replacement regardless of who it was. I don't think they would've recorded another one with Gas for that matter. I think they were all, except for maybe Linde, feeling what Gas was feeling at that time.
I think if anything Gas leaving actually prolonged the life of the band. I believe they were trending towards calling it a career for a while before he left, but then he jumped the gun and caused them to change their plans. Had he stayed, the farewell tour might've come a year or two sooner, but they had to take the time to replace him and gel a bit as a band before doing so. They didn't want to leave the book unfinished, so to speak, so it was more of a necessity than anything else to replace him so they could do one last tour and go out how they wanted to go out instead of someone forcing their hand.