As a point of fact, the coaching staff signed 3 year contacts 2 years ago. This, without an extension, the coaches would have been in the last year of their contracts. As a matter of normal NHL SOPs, if a team has even a shadow of an idea that it may want to keeps the staff past the forthcoming season, they give extensions because it lowers the chance for turmoil in the upcoming season. IMHO, these extensions were inevitable.