My thoughts coming into the offseason have been that the four key young CBJ players that need new contracts (all RFAs) would all get similar deals with a new GM. Chinakov, Sillinger, Johnson and Marchenko all have terrific potential to be core pieces of the future, but like almost all young players, the path to becoming a regular contributor at the NHL has had its ups and downs. As a result, I thought all three would get a bridge deal of either two or three seasons, at a range between about $2.2M to $2.8M per season.

From the player's perspective it seems fair because the salary cap is going up, they are all going to get better and at the end of two to three seasons all three would only be entering their prime playing years. That would be their best opportunity to sign a longer term contract for big money.

Chinakov signed for $2.1M per year for two years early in the summer so it seemed like we were well on our way under my plan but now it appears we have hit a snag with Marchenko. (Sillinger and Johnson also remain unsigned, but I haven't heard about any concerns.)

If you were the CBJ GM, what would you offer Marchenko to break the logjam? FWIW, several hockey related sites have suggested GM Waddell wants to go shorter term because Marchenko has been inconsistent and needs to learn how to bring 100% every night to be successful in the NHL. 

Related question: What websites can you recommend to look up comparables to be more thoughtful on predicting outcomes (i.e. What were the contract terms over the last couple of summers for the first post-entry level deal for players under 25, that scored between 40 and 50 goals in their first two years.)