Corey Masisak of The Athletic: (mailbag) More teams will likely be looking at bridge deals for restricted free agents as opposed to long-term deals. One downfall for teams doing this is that players will be closer to unrestricted free agency and they tend to sign for more.
For the players who could sign big contracts this offseason, they may look at have their contract back-loaded as opposed to front-loaded because of the 10 percent escrow next year and 20 percent the following year.
New Jersey Devils RFA forward Jesper Bratt is more likely to sign a long-term deal than RFA goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.