The Anaheim Ducks have shut the door on the biggest offer-sheet swing of the summer.
On Thursday morning, the club announced it had matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ five-year, $18 million AAV offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, keeping the 21-year-old in Southern California. Had Anaheim let him walk, it would have collected Philadelphia’s next four first-round picks as compensation.
For the Ducks, the move was framed as an easy one. In a statement released through the team, owners Henry and Susan Samueli said, “Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as Pat has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo,” said the Samuelis.
“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.”
General manager Pat Verbeek echoed that confidence.
“We are very happy to have Leo under contract for five years,” said Verbeek. “We have viewed Leo as a franchise player since the moment we met him prior to the 2023 draft.
He’s a character person on and off the ice. Leo is viewed as a top player in this league, and it was always our intention to match any offer sheet.”
Carlsson was the second overall pick in 2023, and at 21 he’s already coming off a career season: 29 goals, 38 assists, 67 points, all in 70 games. The 6-foot-3 center now carries an $18 million cap hit, which is the highest average annual value in the NHL at the time of writing.
That contract leaves Anaheim with just over $9 million in cap space, and there’s still business to do with 40-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier waiting on an extension. If the Ducks need to create room, names like Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano have already surfaced as possible trade candidates.
Killorn is carrying a $6.25 million AAV, while Vatrano sits at $4.57 million. But with the league now fully aware of Anaheim’s need to move money, any deal to shed salary could require a hefty sweetener.
The Ducks’ blue line also looks thin after a rough offseason. From the group that helped get them to the second round of the playoffs last season, Anaheim has lost John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, and Olen Zellweger, while adding only Nick Jensen. That leaves Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, Jensen, Ian Moore, Drew Helleson, Tyson Hinds, and Tristan Luneau as the seven defensemen on the roster.
For Philadelphia, the Carlsson swing comes up empty in the hunt for a long-term No. 1 center. The Flyers still have two restricted free agents in Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, both of whom filed for salary arbitration.
If they want to stay aggressive, there are still other RFA center targets out there: Connor Bedard, 20, and Adam Fantilli, 21, both did not file for arbitration and remain eligible for offer sheets. Philadelphia still has $29.5 million in cap space to work with as the summer rolls on.
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