Despite Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere telling the media last week that his team might “take a little bit of a step back” in terms of competitiveness next season, the team’s stunning signing of Anaheim Ducks star Leo Carlsson to an $18MM AAV offer sheet signals the team “may not believe internally that they’re as far from contending” as they publicly indicate, writes Kevin Kurz of the Athletic. While the Flyers’ attempt to sign Carlsson is, in the end, unlikely to be successful, it does indicate where the organization sees itself in terms of its wider competitive timeline.
The Flyers took a sizable step forward under head coach Rick Tocchet last season, reaching the playoffs and defeating their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a first-round playoff series. While the team was swept away by the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, the combination of the team’s existing core (including Travis Sanheim, Daniel Vladar, and Travis Konecny, among others) with some ascending young talent (such as Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov) proved to be a potent one. According to Kurz, the Flyers know “the roster is still missing a major piece or two” before they can legitimately compete for a Stanley Cup, but the Carlsson offer sheet shows just how creative, and aggressive the club is willing to be in order to make that kind of major addition.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
Despite the fact that Carlsson’s offer sheet has made the young pivot the NHL’s highest paid player, the Ducks have no choice but to match the Flyers’ hostile offer, writes Eric Stephens of The Athletic. It has been previously reported that Ducks GM Pat Verbeek communicated clearly that he would match any offer sheet of Carlsson, but given just how expensive Carlsson’s offer is (the center is an exceptional, valuable player but few would say he is truly worth $18MM AAV at this stage), some have raised the question as to whether the Ducks are best served matching the offer. But according to Stephens, while such a contract might hurt, “the alternative is worse.” If the Ducks cut Carlsson loose, they will be left with an improving young team lacking the most important and scarce lineup building block: a true No. 1 center, and without any clear avenues to acquire a replacement.
The OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs announced that recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Brian Burke has been added as a senior advisor to the team’s hockey operations department. Burke, who enjoyed a legendary career as an NHL executive, winning a Stanley Cup as GM of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, has most recently served as Executive Director of the PWHL’s players’ association, for two years from 2023 to 2025. He most recently worked for a team in 2023, when he was the president of hockey operations of the Pittsburgh Penguins.