Late to the discussion but on signing Zary to a long-term extension is risky, but as long as his knee is good, I would do it. The salary cap is rising substantially, so I would do a 7-8 year deal now. The Sens did that, and some of the guys did get injured and/or under-performed a bit, but I think it will pay off for them as well, at least overall.
At any rate, I would rather gamble on a long-term deal on a young guy who shows promise that he is going to live up to that deal, than to gamble on an older vet that he can maintain that production. If Zary had concussions issues, or some kind of repetitive injury on a body part that didn't seem to heal, then that's a different conversation, and I wouldn't be so willing to gamble then. It appears that Zary's knee was 100% in both cases after the injuries, so if that is really the case, I would put a long-term deal on the table. 8 x 7? I would bet he outperforms that in the long-run.
I don't view Zary (or Coronato) as core pieces, but that's not a core contract either. That's going to be the rate for good supporting players. If Zary (and Coronato) develop into core pieces - which may happen - then it becomes a huge bargain. There is risk there, but I would do it.
Pospisil is entering the last year of his deal this season. You have to make room for some young kids coming up, but I would prefer Pospisil gets re-signed. I think he adds some grit, speed and solid decision making, plus he can really disrupt the opposing team and get into their heads. I also remember Weegar's quote about Pospisil, and how he couldn't stand him at first because of how hard he plays during practices, but how he learned to love him and appreciate him for it. I think Pospisl adds to the culture of this team as a hard-working team more than he is given credit for, not to mention how hard he trains in the off-season. Yes, concussion issues.. but I would be happy with extending him another 2 years, and up until 4 years.
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