The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million contract offer, the team announced on Friday. Whatever happens from here, Carlsson will become the highest paid player in NHL history at $18 million per year, passing Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov.
Carlsson, 21, was a restricted free agent after entering into a contract at his senior level with the Ducks. Anaheim now has seven days to respond to Philadelphia’s offer, or it will receive four first-round picks from the Flyers for the loss of Carlsson.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Carlsson is well on his way to becoming a superstar center in the NHL. In just 110 career games, Carlsson has accumulated 61 goals and 80 assists while flashing some outstanding two-way power. Last season, Carlsson took a significant step forward while leading Anaheim to its first playoff appearance since 2018.
Carlsson soon became nervous to turn a point-per-game with 67 points in 70 games, and five-on-five goals put up an expected share of 53.4% per Natural Stat Steals. Those numerous sparks at the center of his age, and he only needs to improve for a few seasons.
Until the course was necessary at times. Last offseason, Philadelphia picked up former Duck Trevor Zegras in a trade with Anaheim, and it’s been a revelation for the Flyers. Zegras posted a career year with 26 goals and 41 assists while also making great defensive strides under first-year coach Rick Tocchet.
Still, Philadelphia’s true No. 1 needs a center at the top of the line, and this position would help the team in that box without relying on the luck of the tank or the draft lottery. The Flyers looked to be a team on the rise in 2025-26, and signing Carlsson would only accelerate that ascent.
The big question for Philadelphia – and now Anaheim – is whether Carlsson can become the 18 millionth player. He’s not there yet, but given his age and salary in the next salary, he could close. Players in Carlsson’s nation are very hard to find, so even Phildelphia has lent a bit, so it’s worth noting that the team has locked down its free agent center for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, the ducks tie in the real town. They have already lost four members of the blue line in the offseason with Jacob Trouba (free agent), Radko Gudas (free agent), John Carlson and Olen Zellweger (trade) going out the door. Losing Carlsson, the team’s biggest prize in six years of rebuilding, would turn a difficult situation into a disaster for Anaheim.
The path of least resistance, which is right, might be for the Ducks to match the Vols’ offer and keep Carlsson in the fold. Anaheim has room to absorb new cap hit Carlsson, but less money to upgrade the defense. If general manager Pat Verbeek doesn’t believe in Carlsson’s money, he can take the first four rounds and newfound space and go hunting for the bigs himself. It’s just hard to imagine the Ducks finding another rising superstar to replace the one they lost.
How do you offer the price of the work?
Until they reach seven years of NHL service or age 27 – whichever comes first – players are restricted free agents when their contracts expire. When that happens, they can submit other joint sheets. If that happens, the team that currently holds the player’s rights has seven days to match the offer sheet or release the player, thereby receiving compensation in the form of draft capital.
The compensation of the toilet varies according to the annual value of the contract. Most of Carlsson’s record obviously falls into the top tier, which requires four drafts over the next five years. Philadelphia has five first-round picks in the next four years, so they can pay that price and have one pick left over.
2026-27 offer draft compensation sheet
Average annual value | Draft Compensation |
$11,939,167 and above | 1st through (4x) |
$9,551,333 – $11,939,166 | 1st round (2x); 2nd round; 3 rounds |
$7,163,499 – $9,551,332 | 1st round; 2nd round; 3 rounds |
$4,775,667 – $7,163,498 | 1st round; 3 rounds |
$2,387,833 – $4,775,666 | 2nd round |
$1,575,970 – $2,387,832 | 3 rounds |
Below is $1,575,969 | None |
It hasn’t been common for everyone to offer pitches, but teams are finally starting to use them as a valuable roster-building tool. Using them to draw valuable depth from cap-strapped opponents has been more common, but the Flyers could be starting a new moat in the NHL.
They’ll take another draft team and develop a young star, then send him a boatload of money as soon as he hits the market. There is always a chance that the original team will match the offering sheet, but no harm will come of it, except perhaps some bad blood.
If opponents are risking their best young players by allowing them to hit free agency, why don’t they pay them? In this case, Anaheim will either keep the cornerstone of their franchise in Philadelphia, or save a huge amount of money.
Let this be a document for other superstar teams with inoculation: extend them early or risk a major headache.