"Contract length appears to be the major stumbling block in stalled negotiations between the Ducks and winger Bobby Ryan, a restricted free agent.

The Ducks have offered him a five-year, $25 million deal, slightly less than $5.3 million average salaries in the contracts signed previously by linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The money is fine, but Ryan apparently believes he'll be worth more in the final years of that proposal so he woul prefer a shorter term deal.

So why not compromise and offer Ryan three years for $15 million? Sounds like a simple solution, right? Not exactly. On a shorter term, the Ducks would offer Ryan less than $5 million a year because it would not buy out a year of his free agency. And the Ducks don't want all of their young stars' contracts to expire at the same time, because it would make it difficult — if not impossible — to re-sign all of them and remain under the salary cap."