Jumping the gun will cost us cap space as well. The only difference is when. We either pay more now in the hopes we save later or save now and potentially pay more later. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to this.
More often than not, we don't have a choice because we are too close to the cap to offer players longer-term deals. If you look at those deals that turn into bargains, most of them are signed when a team is terrible and has plenty of cap space. Teams that are perennial cup contenders don't typically have that luxury.
If we can move Trouba's full cap hit, maybe we can afford to give Cuylle a longer-term deal with a higher AAV that will one day be a bargain. Or maybe that extra cap space will go to re-signing Kakko instead, or to signing someone to replace Lindgren. More than likely, Cuylle will get a bridge deal and we'll be tight up against the cap yet again. It's just the reality of our situation.
