The Philadelphia Flyers were already aiming high before they ever got to the Leo Carlsson offer sheet.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Flyers had their sights on Kirill Kaprizov first, and they were prepared to make a serious run at the Minnesota Wild winger if he had reached free agency. Friedman said on his latest episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, "I had heard that if Kaprizov had hit the market this year, Philly was going to drop bags of cash on his house," Friedman said in his latest episode of the " 32 Thoughts" podcast.
"Minnesota knew that. Minnesota knew, one of the reasons they did that was that they knew Philly would if they didn't."
That pursuit never got off the ground because Kaprizov instead signed an eight-year, $136 million extension with the Wild on Sept. 25, carrying a $17 million AAV.
The Flyers had been frustrated after the 2025-26 season and the Stanley Cup playoff run when more of the top names in the 2026 free-agent class never actually made it to market. Artemi Panarin, Jack Eichel, and Kaprizov were among the players who might have been available, but all three stayed put with their teams. That left Philadelphia to pivot, and the club ultimately moved on Carlsson.
The Kaprizov angle made sense on multiple levels. He’s a four-time 40-goal scorer and has already posted a 108-point season. He’s also a winger, while Carlsson is a natural center, so the Flyers were clearly looking at different ways to land elite talent.
There was also a direct organizational link. Assistant general manager Brent Flahr drafted Kaprizov to the Wild in 2015, and he now runs the Flyers’ drafts. That fifth-round pick remains Flahr’s biggest calling card at the NHL level.
What all of this adds up to is a front office that has been willing to swing big. Danny Briere and the Flyers were already hunting for a major name before the playoffs, and the Carlsson offer sheet shows they’ve doubled down on the idea that they can land and develop difference-makers. Philadelphia appears convinced Carlsson can grow into a 100-point player, especially with Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone on the wings.
And if the Flyers miss on Carlsson, they don’t sound like a team ready to stop chasing.
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For Philadelphia, the appeal is easy to understand. The Flyers have the cap space to make a move and a clear need for more offense, which is why Mantha has lingered as a possible target alongside Boston and Montreal. The question now is whether any of those teams are willing to go beyond the short-term comfort zone that has defined the market so far. [Read more 🡒]