The Philadelphia Flyers put the Anaheim Ducks in a blender by signing their franchise player Leo Carlsson to a five year $90 million offer sheet last week. This has put Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek in a difficult situation as he has to navigate a murky offseason situation. Either way, Anaheim loses something here as they have to decide between paying Carlsson $18 million per year or losing their prized star altogether.
The widely assumed outcome is that the Ducks will match this offer as they cannot afford to lose their top forward. With that being said, there is no guarantee this happens. If Verbeek matches the offer, Anaheim will be placed in a difficult salary cap situation that could cause them to lose another key player. The player in question is Cutter Gauthier, another promising RFA that the Ducks need to extend this summer.
Offer Sheet Signing Signals Growing animosity Between Carlsson and Anaheim
The fact that Carlsson was willing to sign Philadelphia’s offer signals discontent brewing between him and Anaheim. Insider Frank Seravalli discussed this point on Oilers Now: “Between [former coach] Greg Cronin, between the tough negotiating, there’s a real growing sense…Leo Carlsson doesn’t wanna be [in Anaheim] anymore.”
There have been a series of events that have led to this development. Carlsson’s contract negotiations have been far from smooth sailing with Verbeek. According to insider Elliotte Friedman, the latest offer from Anaheim before the offer sheet dropped was reported to be between $12-13 million per year. This range is a far cry from the rumored $15 million asking price from Carlsson’s camp.
Verbeek has brought this dilemma on himself by lowballing his top gun in contract talks. He will now be forced to pay Carlsson considerably more than he expected or lose him to Philly.
There’s Real Belief in Philadelphia That They Could Land Carlsson
While the prevailing sentiment remains that the Ducks will hang onto Carlsson, Philadelphia believes they have a real chance to land his services. They have not thrown this deal out there solely out of pettiness. There is a sense that the Flyers could actually secure Carlsson out of this. Elliotte Friedman spoke about this prospect on the 32 Thoughts podcast: “I think deep down they (Flyers) expect the Ducks to match, but I still think they really hope they get the player.”
The thought going into this period was that the Ducks would easily be able to match any offer sheet offers that came Carlsson’s way. However, the massive $18 figure has clearly caught them by surprise. Keeping Carlsson has been made harder than Anaheim expected. And doing so would put them in a bind regarding the rest of their roster. Overall, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere has made life difficult on Verbeek’s squad. Perhaps, this was all designed as payback regarding the infamous Gauthier trade from Philadelphia to Anaheim in 2024. It will be fascinating to see what happens with Carlsson in the near future as the Ducks have to make a decision on this matter soon.
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