Anaheim’s summer keeps getting more complicated by the day, and the latest wrinkle could make Cutter Gauthier’s next contract a monster. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said on today’s episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek that the restricted free agent’s price tag could reach a $15MM AAV.
That kind of number would fit the season Gauthier just put together. The 22-year-old forward led the Ducks with 41 goals, and he’s clearly positioned himself for a massive payday. He’s not offer sheet eligible, but the timing still couldn’t be much worse for Anaheim after Philadelphia’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson ($18MM AAV) threw the Ducks’ offseason plans into chaos.
General manager Pat Verbeek now has until this Friday to decide whether to match that record-setting offer. If he does, Anaheim would be left with a little more than $9 million in cap space, which still wouldn’t be enough to handle Gauthier unless something unexpected changes.
Even moving out a contract like Frank Vatrano’s $4.5MM would only buy a little more room, and the Ducks are already carrying three expensive veterans in Vatrano, Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn. On top of that, Anaheim has lost four major pieces on the blue line, with 35-year-old Nick Jensen the only addition so far.
The speed of the turnaround is what makes this whole situation so striking. Not long ago, Anaheim looked like a team with plenty of room to maneuver after making the playoffs.
But the Carlsson negotiations appear to have gone sideways. Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported earlier this summer that the Swede was seeking around $15MM, if not even less, a number that now seems out of reach.
If Anaheim were to let Carlsson go, the Ducks would receive four first-round picks. That would be a huge haul on paper, and it could be used to chase another star through trade.
Still, picks alone rarely replace a player of Carlsson’s caliber unless lottery luck breaks your way. However this plays out, the next 48 hours in Anaheim are going to be worth watching.
Elsewhere around the league, Mitchell Stephens has re-signed with the Coachella Valley Firebirds on a two-year AHL contract, the team announced. The 29-year-old center, a 2015 second-round pick by Tampa Bay, won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and has since spent time in Detroit, Montreal and Seattle, the NHL club tied to Coachella Valley.
He has 123 NHL games and 19 points on his résumé, and he was a useful piece for the Firebirds last season, finishing with 27 points in 69 games to rank ninth on the team. His two-way game continues to play well at the AHL level.
The Winnipeg Jets also added a new ECHL affiliate, announcing a partnership with the Bloomington Bison. The Bison, based in Illinois, are not exactly next door to the Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg’s AHL club, though they do give the organization another developmental stop.
Bloomington is an ECHL expansion team that began play in 2024 and originally affiliated with the New York Rangers. The club went 37-30-2 last season and made the playoffs.
The path from the ECHL to the NHL is a long one, but it’s not unusual: the league said 36 ECHL alumni were on Stanley Cup rosters, and Brandon Bussi’s four-game stint with the Maine Mariners in 2022-23 is another reminder that the route can still lead upward.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Could Pull Off Their Boldest Offseason Move Yet
The summer rumor mill has turned into something a little more inventive for Carolina, with Elliotte Friedman saying on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Hurricanes are exploring a way to use offer sheets in a manner that goes beyond the usual one-player, one-team framework. The idea, as Friedman described it, would lean on Carolinas draft-pick capital and its status as a contender to create leverage in a market where most clubs either do not have the assets or are not eager to go down that road.
For Winnipeg, the interest is obvious because the Jets sit in the kind of spot where a front office has to weigh present contention against the risk of opening the door to a bigger reset. If Carolina can turn that leverage into movement on the trade market, it could put pressure on teams like the Jets to decide how far they are willing to go to keep key pieces in place, even before the offer-sheet part of the offseason really begins. [Read more 🡒]
Moose Schedule Puts Jets Next Wave On A Real Test
The Manitoba Moose have put their 2026-27 slate on the board, and for the Winnipeg Jets organization it is the kind of schedule release that quietly carries more meaning than a typical AHL calendar. The affiliate is set for 72 games, with the season opening at home against the Chicago Wolves on October 3, and the official announcement also laid out the broadcast details for fans tracking the teams progress from afar.
What makes this one worth a closer look is the stretch of games that will start separating hopefuls from true next-wave pieces, with Colby Barlow, Brayden Yager and Elias Salomonsson among the names to watch. Early road tests, including a meeting with the Grand Rapids Griffins, should give a better sense of how this group handles a tougher AHL grind, and whether the Moose are simply building a roster or helping shape the Jets next layer of depth. [Read more 🡒]