The Philadelphia Flyers sent shockwaves across the National Hockey League on Friday afternoon, announcing they have signed Anaheim Ducks restricted free agent Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet for five years with an average annual value of $18 million US.
Record-Breaking Offer Sheet Details
To put that in perspective, the highest AAV for any player in the NHL for the 2026-27 season, as of today, will be $17 million for Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov. A significant difference: Kaprizov is 29 and has established himself as one of the top players in the NHL, while Carlsson is 21 and his most productive offensive season was 2025-26, when he had 67 points in 70 games.
The second-overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, Carlsson is considered one of the best young centres in the game, with a rather bright future. Evidently, Flyers general manager Danny Briere agrees. Still, that’s one heck of a lot of money to throw at it him, even taking into account that the salary cap is on the rise.
Compensation and Ducks' Response
The Ducks have seven days to either match the offer sheet or let Carlsson go. Compensation would be a first-round draft pick in each of the next four seasons. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman posted on X that the Ducks have told “everyone” that they will match any Carlsson offer sheet. We’ll see if that still applies considering the monstrous AAV that Carlsson is about to get.
If the Ducks match, they will have approximately $17 million remaining in cap space with restricted free agents Cutter Gauthier and Pavel Mintyukov still to sign.
NHL Salary Context
Who are the highest-paid players in the NHL? We should note that there is quite a drop-off from Kaprizov’s AAV. Next is Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers at $14 million, followed by Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights at $13.5 million and Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews at $13.25 million. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche rounds out the top five at $12.604 million, while Oilers captain Connor McDavid comes in at $12.5 million.
The Flyers' offer sheet for Carlsson is the most aggressive in recent memory, potentially reshaping the Ducks' roster and salary cap structure. According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, the Flyers announced the offer via their official X account: "We have tendered an offer sheet to Anaheim center Leo Carlsson. The offer is a five-year contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $18M, which would require four of the Flyers first-round draft picks in each of the next four seasons as compensation."
