The bridge contract was made for a player like Pionk. There's definitely room for growth, but some of his underlying stats are concerning.
Regarding Staal and Smith, respectfully disagree on their movability. Either of those players has value with some healthy retention. Maybe it's not much value, but I could see a mid-round pick in exchange for some retention. Bringing the cap hits down into the $3M range is pretty solid value for those two, even with all their warts.
Seriously, if Gorton is even considering a bridge contract for someone that he isn't 100% sure that he will try to move ASAP he should be fired on the spot. Like I could understand some posters not understanding the CBA and what the result of a bridge contract is 5 years ago but it can't seriously be a topic still???