Ducks match Flyers' massive offer sheet to Leo Carlsson: What it means

· Yahoo Sports

The Anaheim Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers' five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson, keeping the rising star and creating a little bit of a cap squeeze for the team.

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The $18 million average annual value on the offer sheet makes Carlsson, 21, the highest-paid player in the NHL, passing the $17 million for Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov. The Flyers would have owed the Ducks four first-round picks if they had not matched.

With the match and the recent re-signing of defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Tyson Hinds, the Ducks have about $9 million in remaining cap space according to puckpedia.com

Cutter Gauthier, the team's leading scorer, still has to sign and that cap space might not be enough after a 41-goal season. The Ducks' defense also could use an upgrade. That means general manager Pat Verbeek might have to trade a veteran or two to be cap-compliant.

Here's what to know about the Ducks matching the Flyers' offer sheet:

What the Anaheim Ducks said

“We are very happy to have Leo under contract for five years,” Verbeek said in a statement. “We have viewed Leo as a franchise player since the moment we met him prior to the 2023 draft. He’s a character person on and off the ice. Leo is viewed as a top player in this league, and it was always our intention to match any offer sheet.”

From Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli: “Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as Pat has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo. 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, while continuing to make a strong impact in our community.”

Leo Carlsson contract details

The Flyers' offer sheet was structured to make Carlsson's payouts mostly signing bonuses. Here are the details:

Leo Carlsson stats

Carlsson was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft behind Chicago's Connor Bedard. He had a breakthrough 67 points in 70 games last season. He was named to the Swedish Olympic team but wasn't able to play because of a leg injury.

In his first three years, he has 141 points in 201 games.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ducks match Flyers' massive offer sheet to Leo Carlsson: What it means

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