Leo Carlsson has Joel Quenneville's Ducks boxed in, and Philadelphia's offer sheet just turned Anaheim's summer into a cap fight.
The Flyers hit Carlsson with a 5-year, $90 million offer sheet carrying an $18 million cap hit. If Anaheim walks away, the return is 4 first-round picks.
That is why this is bigger than a simple RFA story. Carlsson is 21, he just put up 67 points in 70 games, and he already looks like the center this whole build is supposed to run through.
The Ducks made the squeeze worse on Sunday when they signed Pavel Mintyukov to a 5-year extension worth $7.2 million per season. Mintyukov is 22 and coming off 22 points in 73 games.
“The Flyers have put the Ducks in a horrible position.” - Jonathan Larivee, HockeyFeed
That deal is not bad on its own. Mintyukov is a real NHL defender, a former No. 10 pick, and a player Anaheim clearly wants in place long term.
But timing is everything here. PuckPedia lists the Ducks with $9,973,395 in projected cap space right now, and Cutter Gauthier is still sitting there as a pending restricted free agent after a 41-goal season.
“No matter which path the Ducks choose, it does seem as though the Flyers have successfully dealt a major blow to an NHL rival.” - Jonathan Larivee, HockeyFeed
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The nightmare just got even worse for the Ducks this morning
They targeted Anaheim's whole structure. Once Carlsson signed that sheet, every other young Ducks contract started feeling heavier.
Gauthier is the next pressure point. He just became the 4th player in Ducks history to score at least 40 goals in a season, and players with that kind of finish do not sign cheap second deals.
That is what makes Pat Verbeek's position so ugly. Match Carlsson, and Anaheim likely has to clear money fast. Pass, and the Ducks lose their best young center for futures.
“The Ducks salary cap structure now looks like an absolute nightmare.” - Jonathan Larivee, HockeyFeed
There is also the bad-blood angle people around the league will keep bringing up. Philadelphia already did business with Anaheim in the Cutter Gauthier saga, and now the Flyers have shoved the Ducks into the hardest decision of the summer.
Quenneville did not sign up for a slow rebuild anymore. Anaheim already has Carlsson, Gauthier, Mintyukov, and Beckett Sennecke as top-10 picks on this timeline. Letting Carlsson go would rip the middle out of that plan.
“Some believe it is a sign they will not be matching the offer sheet for Carlsson and will instead collect the four first-round picks.” - Jonathan Larivee, HockeyFeed
That is why this offer sheet hits so hard. The Flyers did not just force Anaheim to choose on Leo Carlsson. They forced the Ducks to show what kind of team they really think they are right now.
Source : Flyers offer sheet already having huge consequences for the Ducks.
Should the Ducks match Leo Carlsson's $18 million offer sheet?
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