{"id":777931,"date":"2026-07-04T05:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777931\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T05:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:36:10","slug":"how-the-leo-carlsson-offer-sheet-changes-everything-in-the-nhl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777931\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Leo Carlsson offer sheet changes everything in the NHL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember the last contract supernova? It was 276 days ago that Kirill Kaprizov extended in Minnesota for $17 million per year. That was huge, yes. But, somehow, it seems pale in comparison to the nuclear fallout dropping from Philadelphia\u2019s Leo Carlsson<\/a> offer-sheet, making him (for now) the league\u2019s highest-paid player: $18 million a year.<\/p>\n

Five years, not the current maximum of eight. A restricted free-agent, not unrestricted, unencumbered, as Kaprizov was-to-be. The Flyers (Daniel Briere, Keith Jones, Dan Hilferty, cap guru Barry Hanrahan); Carlsson and his father\/son agents (Matt & Ryan Keator) rotated the league on its axis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everything is different, now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I believe only once in the cap era has a player in his fourth season had the highest salary in the league. That was Mitch Marner, $16 million in 2019-20. Including his bonus, Carlsson will be at $21 million next season. That\u2019s gobsmacking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I can only imagine the reactions in Chicago (Connor Bedard) and Columbus (Adam Fantilli). Those teams probably sent Brinks trucks to their houses. (I don\u2019t believe for a second San Jose would ever let Macklin Celebrini reach next July first unsigned, and there\u2019s a less-than-zero chance now.)<\/p>\n

\"3232 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n

Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n

That might be the biggest change. Teams believed that, at this point in a player\u2019s career, they had the hammer. That\u2019s no longer the case. Now, it is: \u201cWhat happened to Anaheim cannot happen to us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you have great players, sign them for as long as you can. The price never goes down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the fourth offer sheet in 23 months: Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Barrett Hayton and Carlsson. (In the salary-cap era, it\u2019s happened once before: five in 22 months from September 2006-July 2008 \u2014 Ryan Kesler, Thomas Vanek, Dustin Penner, David Backes and Steve Bernier.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, don\u2019t forget, Carolina successfully used the threat of one last summer to get K\u2019Andre Miller.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The league is changing at the ownership and GM level. The cap is rising. The cost of buying in is rising. The pressure to succeed is enormous. Free agency is less of a difference-maker than ever. Suddenly, the offer-sheet looks more attractive. The resistance to them is dropping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to several sources, the Ducks and Carlsson\u2019s representatives held a call hours before the offer sheet dropped. Anaheim\u2019s offer was believed to be between $12-$13 million. No doubt the Ducks thought they\u2019d come a long way.\u00a0A few other teams said they heard the ask was in the $15 million range.<\/p>\n

But, if you’re going to get Carlsson, you must demolish Anaheim’s offer. This isn’t The Price Is Right, where you bid $1 more than the next-highest person.<\/p>\n

Honestly, no one\u2019s hugely shocked the Flyers did this. If Kaprizov hit the market, it was suspected they\u2019d take a huge run at him. They\u2019d been weighing the idea of an offer sheet for months. It is a return to their true Broad Street identity. Ed Snider would love this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But many other teams won\u2019t. This will be inflationary. The rising cap is doing enough of that on its own, but now the top players will point to Carlsson and say, \u201cI should be above that.\u201d Those with comparable numbers at the same age will say, \u201cI should be above that.\u201d And those who are close will say, \u201cMaybe I\u2019m not at the same level, but if he\u2019s at 18, I\u2019m at 15.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, at a time when players are boldly determining their futures, another, with the stroke of a pen, shook the foundation. And this wasn\u2019t a US Olympian \u2014 it was a 21-year-old talented Swede.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For players: a rising tide floats the biggest boats. For teams, this is a tidal wave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Years after he chose to accept five first-rounders from St. Louis for Scott Stevens, then-Washington GM David Poile said, if he could go back in time, he would change his mind and keep the Future Hall-of-Famer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never forgotten that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also haven\u2019t forgotten that, when Anaheim got the second selection in the 2023 draft, GM Pat Verbeek immediately told his staff Carlsson was their man. (Bedard went first.) This is his guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, this completely screws up the Ducks’ salary structure. Yes, this puts them in a horrible bind. Verbeek is an outstanding judge of talent who expertly built a team that eliminated the two-time defending Western Conference champions in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

But he just hit his first iceberg. (Every Western team should send bouquets to Briere.)<\/p>\n

Cutter Gauthier is not eligible for an offer sheet, but he scored 41 goals. What\u2019s he thinking now? Sharks (metaphysical ones, not the team) are swirling around another restricted free-agent, Pavel Mintyukov. Beckett Sennecke had a 60-point rookie season. Verbeek has carefully controlled their growth.<\/p>\n

Now, he has to chart a completely new course.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He warned everyone the Ducks would match any offer. That said, I have no doubt the number caught him completely by surprise. I\u2019d bet Verbeek thought maybe 15. Maybe. But, if you\u2019re going to do this, you have to do it in a way that you can actually get the player. I heard there was another team considering seven years at a $17.5 million AAV, and honestly, I believed someone would think about the max ($20.8 million).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe he calls other teams and sees what those four first-rounders can get him. But this is Pat Verbeek, one of the toughest players ever to put on an NHL uniform. Three-thousand penalty minutes; never saw him back away once. To say you\u2019ll match any offer and then not do it puts a cataclysmic dent in his entire life philosophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 Saw reports that Claude Giroux was going back to Philadelphia. Not disputing anyone, just no confirmation as of Friday night. The Flyers were\u2026a little busy. I do think Edmonton was one of the teams interested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wonder if the Oilers look at Vladimir Tarasenko. Heard a few teams looked at him as things calmed down after free agency day one.<\/p>\n

The fourth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright just completed his second full season, with 12 goals and 27 points in 74 games. As the trade deadline approached, his name was out there, particularly in Seattle\u2019s attempt to land Artemi Panarin. (Panarin was laser-focused on Los Angeles, with many teams \u2014 not only the Kraken \u2014 unable to bribe him elsewhere.)<\/p>\n

Wright\u2019s still available, and there\u2019s motivation to make it work, although disagreement on the commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can confirm that we have had positive conversations with GM Jason Botterill, and he has agreed to move Shane this summer to a team in need of a top young centre,\u201d Wright\u2019s agent, Kurt Overhardt, said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Botterill would not comment. Other executives who\u2019ve spoken to Seattle said there\u2019s obviously an agreement between team and agent to work together, but the Kraken made it extremely clear they expect a fair price and won\u2019t be pressured into anything they don\u2019t want to do. In other words, they are making no guarantees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s supposed to be vacation time, but there\u2019s plenty of business to be done. Add Wright to the list.<\/p>\n

One pod to go (Monday). Then I\u2019m going to try and give you a vacation from me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do you remember the last contract supernova? It was 276 days ago that Kirill Kaprizov extended in Minnesota…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-777931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}