​NHL salary history is being written in Anaheim as the Ducks matched the Flyers’ five-year, $90 million offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson. With one day left before the 3 p.m. ET Friday deadline, Anaheim chose to match the offer and will keep Carlsson at a record-setting price, placing an average annual value of $18 million on his deal. That AAV marks a new milestone in the league, surpassing the $17 million AAV set by Kirill Kaprizov in the eight-year, $136 million contract he signed with the Minnesota Wild.
Yet, unlike Kaprizov, 21-year-old Carlsson is not yet an established star. Still, there is widespread belief that Carlsson is entering his professional prime, and Anaheim’s decision to match the Flyers’ offer is a calculated bet on his continued ascent. Carlsson, selected by the Ducks with the second overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, arrived at this offseason as a restricted free agent. The terms of the offer sheet are frontloaded and heavily weighted toward signing bonuses, which means Carlsson’s cash compensation for the 2026–27 season will approach $20 million. By comparison, he just concluded an entry-level contract that carried a $950,000 salary-cap hit last season.
Even with Carlsson’s retention, the Ducks still hold roughly $9 million in available salary cap space for the upcoming season, aided in part by the league-wide rise to a record $104 million cap for 2026–27. The contract with Carlsson runs through the 2030–31 season and is expected to accelerate salary growth for other rising talents, including players like Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks, who are widely anticipated to become cornerstone talents in the near future.
“Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as Pat Verbeek has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo,” Ducks owner Henry Samueli and Susan Samueli said in a joint statement. “We have extremely high expectations for Leo. We firmly believe he will continue his strong growth trajectory and become one of the truly elite centers in the league.”
If Anaheim had opted not to match, the Flyers would have received four first-round draft picks from Philadelphia, a potential seismic shift in the Ducks’ strategic plan and future assets. The Flyers themselves remain in a period of transition as Comcast Spectacor navigates the forthcoming split between Comcast and NBCUniversal, introducing continued uncertainty around ownership and organizational direction.
The Carlsson decision also aligns with a broader trend in the NHL where teams are leveraging contract structures that emphasize signing bonuses and cap management to secure young talents while maintaining flexibility for future signings. The Ducks’ move to retain Carlsson underlines a broader strategy to build from within, investing in a young core that could anchor Anaheim’s competitive window for the next several seasons. As Carlsson eyes his prime years, Anaheim is betting on his development to translate into sustained on-ice impact, leadership, and production that could help elevate the franchise back toward playoff contention and beyond.
With the 2026–27 season looming, Carlsson’s role will be pivotal for the Ducks. If he continues his ascent, Anaheim’s record-setting arrangement could be viewed in hindsight as a cornerstone of the team’s rebuild—one that shaped not only Carlsson’s career arc but the franchise’s trajectory for the remainder of the decade. The optics of the deal also send a message across the league about the value teams place on top prospects who show tangible signs of becoming elite players, even as they navigate the complexities of young-player contracts, signing bonuses, and the evolving dynamics of the salary cap landscape.
In sum, the Ducks’ decision to match the Flyers’ offer sheet for Leo Carlsson marks a significant milestone in NHL contract history while signaling Anaheim’s commitment to cultivating a core around a promising young center. The move, driven by leadership, strategic cap management, and a belief in Carlsson’s continued growth, could shape the Ducks’ competitive arc for years to come as the league continues to adapt to rising salaries, new cap realities, and the emergence of a new generation of high-impact players. The story surrounding Carlsson’s contract and its implications for both Anaheim and the broader NHL ecosystem is one to watch as the season unfolds and executives assess the evolving balance between youth, potential, and financial stewardship.