The Anaheim Ducks Must Put Their Money Where There Mouth Is After Historic Leo Carlsson Offer Sheet
The Anaheim Ducks have made it known they would match any offer sheet presented to young stars and RFAs Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.
The Philadelphia Flyers are putting that to the test in crazy fashion.
The most shocking free-agent signing of this off-season happened on Friday, when Philadelphia tendered an offer sheet to Carlsson worth a stunning $18 million annually for the next five seasons.
It's time for Ducks GM Pat Verbeek to put his money where his mouth is.
Breaking: Philadelphia Flyers Sign Anaheim Ducks Center Leo Carlsson to Five-Year, $18 Million AAV Offer Sheet
Daniel Briere's aggressive gamble forces a historic standoff, leveraging four first-round picks to make the young Swede the NHL's highest-paid star and reshape Anaheim's financial future.
This move by Briere marks the second time the Flyers have attempted to put the screws to a rival team with an offer sheet.
In 2012, Philadelphia signed star defenseman Shea Weber to a massive 14-year, $110-million offer sheet. But the Nashville Predators matched it, and that contract for Weber just expired at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Carlsson's offer sheet isn't as long as it could've been in theory, but make no mistake – the Flyers clearly believe there's a chance Anaheim lets Carlsson walk. It may not be the most likely scenario, but stranger things have happened.
The Ducks have more than enough cap space to keep Carlsson in the fold. They would have about $17 million left if they were to match Carlsson's contract.
Even if that cap hit is twice as high as the $9 million salary Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe agreed to on an extension, there should be enough room to re-sign Gauthier, who led Anaheim in scoring and almost certainly doesn't want to sign any contract with Philadelphia, the team he wouldn't sign with after drafting him.
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But the cost of doing business just went through the roof, and Verbeek now has to either invest in Carlsson to a degree no other team has in an up-and-coming youngster, or take a bullet and let Carlsson go to the Flyers.
Carlsson is one of the game's brightest young stars, but he clearly thinks he's ready for the expectations that will come with being the highest-paid player in the game.
We suspected that one young star or another would set a new ceiling for player salaries, but now we know which youngster has raised the monetary bar.
The Flyers were bold enough to push Carlsson and the Ducks to a crossroads. And now it's up to Verbeek to pay Carlsson a truckload of money or see their franchise center walk to the City of Brotherly Love.
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This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 4:20 PM.