Quoting: BCAPP
I think the players don't want the bridge as if they get the 5 year deal at 21-22 they get a second prime deal at 27ish.
If they do a bridge then 5 years or just sign 8 years, it takes them to about 30. Now people still paid Pietro at 30, but he'd have gotten more if he were 27 like Panarin and Tavares were.
Also the BEST deals are the ones where you can lock in an up and comer who look like guaranteed second pairing/second line guys at second line/pairing money at 22ish for term, but they progress to study and you get a bargain.
See guys like Josi, Parise (RFA contract not the mega-contract), likely Girard, Couturier. Hell both Tavares and MacKinnon signing for first line but not superstar money, but hten becoming superstars (McKinnon more than Tavares).
It doesn't work for guys like Makar/Rantanen/Marner who already are looking for elite money.
But when you can find those guys I'd much rather get them to sign for 4 million for 6-7 years through their prime than 3 million for 3 years. Its where the best bargains are found
100% agree with the take but the player has to agree to the deal, too. At the moment, all things considered, Makar probably can't get $10M/yr; he can get maybe $8-9M on a long-term deal. If he signs, say, a 3-year bridge at $7M to wait for the cap to go up and it does and he continues to perform and get better, now he's in line for $10-11Mx8. So, he's $21M richer plus he gets the long-term deal at a higher value. If he signs, say, an 8x$9M next off-season, he does get the security of the long-term deal. But, he's leaving $29-37M on the table in that scenario (rich athlete problems, I know; boo-hoo). He could make that up later because he'd end an 8-year deal around age 30 and could sign another pretty good deal after that.
One more thing to consider: the Avs financial situation. While it looks all good on paper to re-sign both Landy and Makar to big deals, if the cap stays flat for more than just this coming year, things might get real tight. So bridging Makar could give them some relief so they can sign other guys that can help them win then pay him that big contract later on.
There are a lot of moving parts but it has to work for everyone. We'll see how it shakes out but I won't be surprised if he gets a long-term deal
or a bridge.