eh, even if the player isn't that good, you risk a lot with a bridge in a rising cap environment if they simply improve, which most players (especially defensemen) do from their 21/22 to 25/26 year old seasons
look at darnell nurse as an example. it would have looked "bad" if the oilers gave him a 7x8 or whatever in 2020 coming off of his first bridge, but even by basically staying at that level, he ended up getting the 9.25x8 two years later. had they given him a 8 year deal right off of his elc, he'd probably be locked in for two more years from now at like, <$5m, essentially only paying more than they ended up paying in the first two years of the deal.
then there's further downside if the player actually hits. imagine if we only gave hughes a three year bridge. that would have still been at a ~$6m cap hit, and in return for that $2m in savings, he'd be up for like, $12m right now.