{"id":5492,"date":"2026-07-09T18:04:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5492"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:04:32","slug":"anaheim-ducks-keep-leo-carlsson-matching-flyers-90-million-offer-sheet-for-young-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5492","title":{"rendered":"Anaheim Ducks keep Leo Carlsson, matching Flyers\u2019 $90 million offer sheet for young center"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) \u2014 The Anaheim Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers\u2019 offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson, keeping their rising young star at an extraordinary cost.<\/p>\n

Read more England player Jarell Quansah suspended for two games at the World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ducks announced their decision Thursday on the 21-year-old Carlsson, who is now the NHL\u2019s highest-paid player under the five-year, $90 million deal extended by the Flyers one week ago.<\/p>\n

Carlsson signed the Flyers\u2019 offer sheet as a restricted free agent after a year of fruitless negotiations with Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek, whose typical hardline approach in contract talks with his restricted free agents backfired tremendously this time.<\/p>\n

Carlsson\u2019s new contract is worth much more than the league expected he would get as a restricted free agent, and the $18 million average annual value is significantly more than he had already indicated he would accept. The deal surpasses the salary of Minnesota\u2019s Kirill Kaprizov, who would have been the NHL\u2019s highest-paid player at $17 million.<\/p>\n

The Flyers failed to land their long-sought No. 1 center in unusual fashion by swiping Carlsson, but the attempt showed general manager Danny Briere\u2019s determination to improve his roster at all costs. The Ducks would have received four first-round draft picks from Philadelphia if they hadn\u2019t matched the offer sheet.<\/p>\n

Future negotiations will reveal whether Briere significantly skewed the NHL\u2019s valuations of young talent by offering more than nearly all observers thought Carlsson could get. The structure of Philadelphia\u2019s offer sheet also front-loaded Carlsson\u2019s contract with costly signing bonuses in another departure from many NHL contracts.<\/p>\n

Although the Ducks retained their most important young player, Verbeek\u2019s inability to get a deal done before he was forced into it by Philadelphia will compromise Anaheim\u2019s roster-building efforts this season and for years to come. The embattled general manager has had a rough summer immediately after the Ducks ended their seven-season playoff drought with a second-round run that had stamped them as a future contender in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

After keeping the Ducks\u2019 payroll well under the salary cap during his tenure, Verbeek will be spending owner Henry Samueli\u2019s money at the limit of the cap next season after making anachronistic decisions and signaling vulnerability to the league while he managed his crop of young talent.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s salary cap is currently at $104 million and is expected to rise in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Read more Aki Iwai leads and Nelly Korda struggles in first round at Evian women\u2019s major<\/a><\/p>\n

Verbeek still hasn\u2019t signed 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier, a restricted free agent who is not eligible to receive an offer sheet. He signed defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million deal last week, again going well over the expected market rate for a restricted free agent who isn\u2019t on Carlsson\u2019s level of talent, but was widely rumored to be on the verge of signing an offer sheet.<\/p>\n

Verbeek also parted ways with four key defensemen from last season\u2019s team \u2014 Jacob Trouba, captain Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger and late-season rental John Carlson \u2014 and hasn\u2019t replaced them with any significant signings beyond journeyman Nick Jensen. Anaheim also traded Mason McTavish, a key component of its team for several seasons, to St. Louis for draft picks after the center regressed last season.<\/p>\n

With this pricey deal for Carlsson, the Ducks\u2019 history of antagonistic negotiations with their free agents has become the defining feature of Verbeek\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n

Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and McTavish all held out of training camp in recent years when they couldn\u2019t get a deal done with Verbeek, who eventually signed all three \u2014 and later traded them all away. Verbeek did two of those deals with the Flyers, gaining praise for sending Drysdale in a package for Gauthier, but getting criticism from Ducks fans for giving up on the high-scoring Zegras last summer.<\/p>\n

Carlsson was the No. 2 choice in the 2023 draft behind Connor Bedard, and he has emerged as one of the NHL\u2019s top young playmakers. <\/p>\n

Although he didn\u2019t produce points at a rate commensurate with his new salary during his first three seasons, almost everyone believes Carlsson can become one of the best centers in hockey, so his deal might eventually look downright affordable.<\/p>\n

He scored 67 points in 70 games last season despite being limited for a lengthy stretch by a leg injury, and he added 11 points in 12 games during his first postseason experience.<\/p>\n

Carlsson is expected to be an unrestricted free agent when this contract ends in 2031, putting him in line for another massive payday at just 26 years old<\/p>\n

Read more Karolina Muchova ends Coco Gauff\u2019s run at Wimbledon in drama-filled tiebreaker to reach the final<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NHL<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM, Calif. 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