Ducks match Flyers' offer sheet to Leo Carlsson, meaning Philadelphia's search for No. 1 center continues
Flyers general manager Danny Briere came out swinging to land a franchise center, and unfortunately, he will have to wait another day.
The Ducks on Thursday matched the Philadelphia Flyers' five-year, $90 million offer sheet tendered to Leo Carlsson, meaning the 21-year-old center will remain in Anaheim.
Carlsson's contract carries an $18 million annual average value.
"Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as Pat [Verbeek] has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo," Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said in a statement. "We have extremely high expectations for Leo. We firmly believe he will continue his strong growth trajectory and become one of the truly elite centers in the league, while continuing to make a strong impact in our community."
Carlsson was a restricted free agent, meaning he could sign an offer sheet with any other team, but the Ducks had the right to match. They did.
Matching the offer sheet does put the Ducks in a bind. Former Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals in his age-22 season, is a restricted free agent and figures to be in line for a big payday himself. Gauthier is not arbitration or offer sheet eligible.
According to PuckPedia, the Ducks now have under $10 million in cap space to sign Gauthier. Anaheim might have to dump salary in order to get the Gauthier deal done.
In his third season, Carlsson set career highs in goals (29), assists (38) and points (67) in 70 regular-season games in Anaheim. In the playoffs, he added 11 points in 12 games.
He has 141 points in 201 regular-season games across three seasons in the NHL.
Drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, Carlsson is a prototypical center who brings size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds), speed, playmaking, scoring and a 200-foot game to the table.
Before the offer sheet, the Ducks' general manager, Verbeek, said he would match any offer sheet tendered to Carlsson. He ultimately did.
The chances of the Flyers coming away with Carlsson were slim, but by signing him to an offer sheet, Briere showed everyone that the organization is serious about acquiring a franchise player and putting this rebuild to bed.
What's next for the Flyers remains unknown. They still have to re-sign RFAs Jamie Drysdale, Nikita Grebenkin and Trevor Zegras.
Briere swung big and missed, but it was a risk and a chance well worth taking. Time will tell where he looks now, but one has to imagine he'll continue to seek that big fish.
Whether he gets one this summer or not is the question.
