Leo Carlsson turned down a modest raise from the Anaheim Ducks and ended up landing a record $18 million deal instead.
Insider Elliotte Friedman laid out the full timeline on NHL Network this week, and it reframes the entire saga.
Verbeek offered Carlsson eight years at $10.5 million per season back in September, just months after he became extension eligible.
Carlsson was coming off a 20-goal, 45-point season in his second NHL year at that point, a fair price for his level at the time.
Carlsson's camp never said yes and never said no. They simply decided to wait and see where the market moved.
They were betting on the salary cap climbing nearly 40 percent over the next few seasons, and that bet paid off.
Extensions for more established players kept climbing as the year went on, and Anaheim's original number started looking small.
Verbeek's September offer looks cheap in hindsight
Coming into this offseason, Anaheim raised its offer to $12.5 million. Carlsson's camp countered at $15 million.
Anaheim said no, unaware that Philadelphia was sitting on the record offer sheet that would soon blow the market open.
"Pat Verbeek and the Ducks, they recognized a threat, but they didn't recognize how big it was," Friedman said.
Philadelphia finished 43-27-12 for 98 points this season under general manager Daniel Briere and head coach Rick Tocchet.
That is a franchise clearly willing to spend big to poach a 21-year-old center from clear across the league.
Anaheim finished 43-33-6 for 92 points, still trying to build around Carlsson as its long-term answer down the middle.
Friedman's closing read was simple. Take care of your own business before somebody else takes care of it for you.
That lesson just cost Anaheim about $7.5 million a year more than the number sitting on the table back in September.
Did Pat Verbeek blow it by not locking up Leo Carlsson last September?
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